Depravity Falls: The Official Horror
by TheOptimisticSpectator
Summary: A dark and brutal take on an alternate Gravity Falls universe. Dipper and Mabel Pines are stuck in a world teeming with monsters, mystery & mortality. Dipper, a clever yet bitter coward, must travel alongside Mabel, a girl with a fanatical love for him, and traverse these cruel and unforgiving lands in the hopes of finding salvation. (Graphic content included) (Rating: Teen-Mature)
1. Emergence

Chapter One: Emergence

I cannot remember a day that I smiled.

In fact, I cannot remember a day.

All I know is darkness.

...

Where I live, there is no sun, only dark-gray clouds that fester over the world angrily.

Where I live, there is no peace, only violent conflicts, warring factions, and gruesome, demonic creatures that walk the earth.

Where I live, there is one supreme ruler that wreaks havoc and chaos wherever he visits.

Where I live, there are no aspirations, no dreams or ambitions, nothing to hold dear.

...

I cannot remember feeling safe. Anything and everything is out to kill me, to rip out my guts and splatter them against the ground, to make me watch them feast upon it as if it was their last meal. It would be my final sight before I was given the mercy of being rid of this horrific place.

I cannot remember truly living. Everything I've done so far was to survive. By the bare bones.

I cannot remember having a family, besides my sister, who clings to me as if I am the only light in her dark, dim world. If only I had that same light to cling to.

...

Why am I still here?

...

Is this a bad dream?

Or is it punishment for my evil deeds? Though I cannot even bother to fathom what I would have done wrong in my past life to deserve this.

This depraved world.

This depraved _fucking_ world.

…

…

...

I'm so sick of it. It's a nightmare that won't end. At this point, it would be an unspeakable mercy to put a swift end to my life.

But of course, as if the universe, so cruel and unforgiving, was a comedian with only the darkest, most sickening sense of humor, ensured that I was too cowardly that I could not take my own life.

Believe me when I say that I have thought about it countless times. Cutting my own throat, hanging myself, shooting myself in the head. I've thought of it all, but…

In the end, I just can't do it.

...

Why am I alive?

...

Why am I alive?!

...

 _WHY AM I ALIVE?!_

…

…

...

If I am forced to suffer in this hellish world,

 _Then so be it._

"Dippie, Dippie, look! I found a raccoon!"

I looked up to see Mabel, blood staining her tattered clothes and face. She was holding an eviscerated raccoon in one hand, a long, pointed carving knife in the other. She smiled at me with such glee, posing as if she had just won a teddy bear. If only that were the case.

She skipped over, laying down the knife on the log I was sitting on and presenting the dead raccoon to me. I looked down at it, noticing that its last expression, terror, was stuck that way. I felt nauseous.

"I can't believe it, Dippie! I mean, it struggled quite a bit when I had stabbed it, because it didn't die right away. So, you know, I just had to stab it a couple more times, and eventually it stopped moving. But now we can eat!"

I switched my gaze, looking up at her. She was so close, I could see the blood stains on her teeth. She was kneeling before me as if I was a deity. She probably did worship me.

I was sickened. I didn't know what to say.

"I...I…"

Her smile faded, and her lower lip began quivering.

"Do you...not like it?"

Her eyes were twitching, her pupils unnaturally dilated. Ever since I could remember, her eyes had that same unstable look, as if she would snap at any moment and kill everyone she could get her hands on. I decided it would be the safest just to give in to her twisted fantasy.

I cracked a smile.

"N-no...I'm very...glad that you...got us dinner."

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, and a wide grin broke out on her face.

"Oh, god, I'm so glad, Dippie! Did I make you proud?!"

"Y...Yes…"

"Oh, god…"

Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed in joy, lowering her head.

"Oh, god, oh god, i'm so glad I made you proud! I'm so glad I could _die_!"

She looked back up, and once again I had to stare into those unstable, dilated pupils.

"I will always, ALWAYS protect you, Dippie! I love you with all my heart, and I swear that NOTHING will come near you! It'll be just you and me, truckin' along and having fun!"

She began to giggle. It was so unnatural, so out-of-place in this desolate world that I just couldn't bear it.

"Hey, l-let's get, um, a fire going, so we can...can cook that raccoon, okay?"

Mabel's mouth widened into a terrifying grin, nodding intensely as she hung onto my every word. She put the raccoon on the log and grabbed the carving knife, then pointed to the backpack I was wearing.

"Please don't get mad at me, Dippie, but I need, need that backpack for just one second so I can, you know, take out the hatchet and go cut down one of those trees. I just-it'll just take a second."

She waited for me to respond.

"A...alright."

I unslung the bright pink backpack, reaching in and taking out the hatchet. There were a couple of other tools that we had inside the pack for other uses, but it wasn't hard to get the axe, as the top almost protruded through the bag. I pulled it out and handed it to Mabel. She shuddered as my hand made contact with hers.

"Oh ...thank you, Dippie. I'll go do it right now!"

With that, she rushed off behind me, heading a couple yards away to start hacking at one of the smaller trees she could reach. She did it with such vigor and ferocity that, if I didn't know the reasoning behind such determination, I might have been impressed.

Her fixation on me was another thing I couldn't understand. I can only remember the last week, but I had found many clues during that time that suggested she was my sister. One included a picture I had found inside of the backpack. It was her and I, posing and smiling with a couple of people I didn't recognize.

When I saw that picture, that was when I determined that there must have been a time before this...this _hellhole_ manifested. Whenever I had the chance, I stared at that picture, for hours on end, wondering what happened that had caused me to end up _here_.

In this abyss of horrors.

* * *

"So, do you like it, Dippie?"

It tasted odd. She had overcooked it for a bit too long, but since I hadn't eaten for days, I was chowing it down.

"It's...very good. Thank you, Mabel."

I heard a moan to my right. I turned my head to see her gazing at me, moaning softly as her cheeks turned scarlet.

"Y-you said my name. It's been so long since you said it before!"

"It was only a day."

She didn't seem to be listening to me, though. She was mumbling to herself as her hands twitched. She occasionally took bites from the raccoon meat she held in one hand, ripping into it whenever she did so. At this point, I gave up on trying to hold any conversation with her whatsoever. Whatever I talked about, she would just nod her head intensely, agreeing with whatever I said. If I asked her a question, she probably would just respond with 'Does it matter? I'm with you, that's all that matters'.

As I bit into one particularly tough part of the meat, I found it rather difficult. I reached for the carving knife to cut off the tough bit, but as soon as I blinked, it was gone. I looked over to see Mabel holding it against her chest, shaking as she looked at me.

"Wha-what did you want to do with the knife, Dippie?"

"I...was planning to cut off this tough bit here-"

"Oh! I'll do it, then. Don't worry!"

She nimbly took the meat out of my hands and went to work. I sighed inwardly. The very girl who fawned over me so fanatically wouldn't even trust me with a knife. Then again, I could see why.

 _In case I tried to end my life with it._

I knew that if I died, she wouldn't be able to function anymore. Maybe she would shut down, or go on a killing spree until she died, or something else entirely. But all I know now is that she would rather put herself in serious danger before I ever got a drop of that same risk. In fact, that's how I've been able to survive this long.

Since the week had passed, at every turn of danger, Mabel had taken up the carving knife we'd found and ferociously killed or scared off whatever hostile enemies we had encountered.

But alas, she would not allow me any sort of dangerous material, in case I happened to accidentally or intentionally hurt/kill myself. Funnily enough, she allowed me to keep things like the hatchet, most likely because she knew I was a coward, and if I somehow did have the mindset to end my life, it wouldn't be with something as brutal as an axe. The knife, I could slit my wrists with, but there was no silent and non-painful way to take my own life with a hatchet.

The fact that she had thought of all this made me even more sure than before that I couldn't run from her.

 _Rustle._

I turned my head towards the forest. Something was stalking us, I could feel it. A chill crawled up my spine as the rustling of the bushes continued. Already, Mabel was prepared with the carving knife, standing in front of me and growling ferociously at whatever danger was prowling in those bushes.

Then, _they_ came out.

Four small, hairless creatures the size of a dog, with milky white skin, came out of the bushes and crept towards us. They walked on their hind legs, but their torso was situated below their knees, so that they looked like they were in a constant squatting position. Their front two claws idly scratched at the air as they continued creeping towards us. When they were about twenty feet away, I could see their eyes. Completely black, as if they were possessed. Their mouths were lined with needle-sharp teeth. I could even see blood stains on the tips of them.

They must have had a meal recently. That thought only served to sicken me.

One of them took a step forward and growled at us. It sounded like a cross between a dog and a human.

It took another step forward.

"Mabel-"

"Yes, Dippie?"

She said this without breaking her gaze from the pack.

"We need to run and find somewhere to hide. We cannot take on four of these things."

"Nonsense, Dippie. I can and will kill anything that tries to come near you."

"Mabel, _think about it_! Are you confident that _four_ of these things won't be able to get to me, or at least one of them?"

Finally hearing reason, Mabel hesitated. Her hand shook as she considered what to do.  
"Okay, Dippie. What do you suggest?"

I looked around frantically, finding somewhere, _anywhere_ that could serve as a wall between us and those demons.

"There!"

I pointed to a rickety shack that I could just barely make out beyond a mass of pine trees. Mabel took a quick glance to where I was pointing at, then looked back at the pack, continuing her unwavering gaze.

"Alright, Dippie. But those things look to be much faster than us. How do you propose we avoid them?"

I took a moment to consider this. I remember, a couple days back, we had faced these things once before. There was something specific they feared….

"Fire! They hate fire. Okay, you can pick up one of those logs and throw it at the pack. It should disorient them long enough that we can make it to the cabin. Are you ready?"

Mabel took a moment before responding.

"Yes, Dippie."

"Alright. When I say 'go', you'll pick up the log, throw it, and then we book it for the shack. Ready?"

"Ready, Dippie."

I waited a couple moments for the creatures to come a bit closer.

"Go!"

I immediately began to sprint for the cabin, not daring to look behind me. I heard commotion, the surprised growl of the creatures as a fiery log was thrown at them, then the rapid sound of footsteps following close behind.

The shack was close, ten meters away.

Then, I heard the creatures further behind us. They were closing in fast.

Five meters.

The padding of their footsteps, coupled with their growling, terrified me, and a new burst of energy came from within. I used this energy to propel myself even faster.

Two meters.

I ran into the door of the shack, waiting for Mabel to run in. As she came barreling in, I threw the door shut, pressing against it tightly.

 _ **SLAM!**_

I almost lost hold of the door as one of the creatures threw themselves at it. They began to put pressure on it. I panicked, realizing they would get in any second now if we didn't do something.

"Dippie, I'll hold the door! You look for something to barricade it with!"

"Oh yeah, good idea!"

There was a split second where I let go of the door just as Mabel took my place, and then I looked around frantically. I spotted a bookcase with a couple dusty books on the shelf.

 _Perfect._

I ran over, then began to push against the bookshelf in the direction of the door. It was extremely heavy, but the sheer amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins made the pushing a lot faster. Eventually, I came within reach. I pushed upwards on the bookshelf, making it fall over on its side towards the door.

"Mabel, get out of the way!"

Immediately, Mabel dove backwards, just in time as the heavy bookshelf slammed against the floor. It was sufficiently blocking the way of the front door, withstanding the pressure of the creatures outside pushing against it. After a few minutes, the creatures gave up. Their garbled howling rang in my ears, followed by quick retreating of steps. I sighed in relief.

"Thank god that's done with."

I was so damn tired from that pushing. Thank god we had found refuge now-

 _Click._

"What in the fuck are you kids doing in my house?"


	2. The Man in the Fez Hat

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Man in the Fez Hat**

I lifted my head up, staring at the stocky old man who was pointing a shotgun at us from across the room, standing in the doorway leading to another room. From what I could quickly see, he was wearing a tattered business suit of sorts, as well as a red fez hat on his bald head. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Mabel subtly ready her knife.

"I asked you kids a goddamn question. What the _fuck_ are you doing in my base?"

I put my hands up in a peaceful gesture. I wasn't prepared to die today.

"Woah, woah, listen, sir, we're just taking refuge in this place for now, at least until we can-"

"Find refuge somewhere else, boy."

The old man suddenly trained his gun on Mabel.

"And I see that knife you're hiding behind your back, little girl. Drop it or i'll drop you."

Mabel hissed at him. The old man wasn't expecting such an answer. He reeled back his head, switching his gaze to me.

"What the hell's wrong with her?"

"She's, uh...protective."

I looked over at Mabel, who was still keeping her fixated gaze on the old man.

"Just...drop the knife, Mabel." I said, motioning with my hand downwards slowly. She switched her gaze to me, and instantly her eyes glazed over with that same look of utter adoration and love.

"Only if you say so, Dippie."

Without another word, she dropped the knife. It clattered to the ground, resounding loudly throughout the cabin. As the old man saw the action, his tension dropped. He lowered the gun.

"That's great. Now leave."

I felt fear grip my heart as I heard the words.

"But sir, please-"

" _Leave."_

"No."

I turned to hear the objection from Mabel. The old man also heard it, and turned his head towards her, frowning.

"No? The hell you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean no. If we go back out there, there is a chance Dippie will get hurt, and _that will not happen_."

Her voice steeled, as did her gaze. She stared at the old man, who leaned back and raised his gun, clearly unsettled by her unwavering stare. His hands shook slightly as he thought about what to do.

"Fuck!"

He lowered his gun once again, holding it at his side as he pressed rubbed his head in frustration.

"Fine. You can stay here for an hour-"

"A day." I interrupted. He gave me a menacing look.

"Boy, don't test my patience."

"Sir, please! We need some time to rest before we can just go out. _Please_."

I stressed the last plea. Thinking of going back out into that wasteland right now made me sick to my stomach.

The old man stared me dead in the eyes. Finally, he let up, groaning as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Fine, whatever. I don't even know the damn time of day anymore. One day. Then you leave."

Relief flooded my mind. Finally, a safe haven.

The old man retreated back into the hall from whence he came, muttering to himself as he slung the shotgun sling over his shoulder. A couple moments passed before I heard his voice from down the hall.

"There's a couple beds upstairs. Go rest there."

It took all I had to stop myself from breaking down and crying right then and there. For the first time since I could remember anything, we had finally found refuge. I finally felt _safe._

Well, as safe as I could be, what with a psychopath for my supposed sibling standing right beside me. I snuck a glance over at Mabel, who was just...standing there. Staring into the void. I almost didn't want to provoke her, but I had to inform her of the news.

"Mabel."

She didn't respond.

"Mabel!"

Finally, she snapped out of it. As she focused on me, I immediately regretted getting her attention. She smiled, her hazel eyes watching my every movement with an unsettling calmness to them. Fortunately for me, her pupils had returned to their normal size, but I wasn't sure if I liked her any better now that she had such an unsettling look.

"Um, so Mabel…"

"Yes, Dippie?"

"We can, uh, stay here for about a day. We're allowed the beds upstairs. Do you want to, uh...you know…"

Before I could finish my sentence, I saw Mabel blush.

"Wow, Dippie...I didn't know you were so forward with your requests…"

 _She's really fucked in the head, isn't she?_ I thought to myself.

"That's not...what I meant...I was suggesting we, uh, go check it out."

I shuddered as she sighed, seemingly disappointed that I hadn't actually just suggested sex... _with my sibling._

 _Then again, maybe she doesn't know we're siblings. That might explain why she's been making such moves on me!_ I thought. _If I tell her, she'll turn off from me_.

"Hey, Mabel, you know we're siblings, right?"

Inwardly, I sighed in relief. Now that she knew this, things wouldn't be so weird-

She nodded. I was confused. She did just hear what I said, right?

"Mabel, did you hear me?"

"Yes, Dippie. I know we're siblings. I've known this entire time."

"But...you love me? As in sibling love, right?"

"No. I _love_ you."

...

I felt sick. _Really_ sick.

"You...you wanted to...do that...with me...knowing we're siblings…?"

Her hazel eyes continued to stare at me, unwavering as she answered.

"I don't care, Dippie. I've felt an intense love for you since I saw your wonderful face. Everytime I see you, I feel a euphoric sense of happiness that washes over my entire body, over my mind. Nothing else makes me this intensely happy besides being with you."

She took a step closer. I didn't move. Her hazel eyes dilated as she got closer, her smile widening.

"I can't get rid of this feeling, so I just accepted it. I want to marry you, Dippie. I want your time, your devotion, your love, your _babies_ …"

She took another step. I still couldn't move. Her eyes dilated even more, her smile turning into a terrifying grin filled with rapturous delight.

" _I want to feel your flesh press against me so hard that I get bruises. I want to be so close to you, I want to crawl into your skin. I want to taste every drop of sweat that comes out of your pores, every drop of blood that you lose."_

She leaned in close, so terrifyingly close, and whispered in my ear.

" _...I want you to be mine."_

….

…

…

She leaned back, holding her hands behind her waist as her grin receded back into a small little smile. Her pupils returned to their normal size, but her unflinching gaze kept focused on me.

"I don't care what obstacles are between us, Dippie. I will break them all down if I can love you, unconditionally. _I love you, Dipper._ "

I couldn't. This was too much. I turned around, staggering over to the corner of the room.

I fell to my knees and vomited onto the ground below.

 _I can't do this, I can't do this, I'm scared._

I wanted someone, anyone to rely on. Someone who could just come up and comfort me, to tell me that everything would be alright.

I wanted to wake up from this nightmare so bad.

I looked down at my hands. They wouldn't stop shaking.

This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. There was no way something this _sickening_ was real.

...

I took a moment, trying to calm myself down. I could feel a few tears streaking down my cheeks, but I wiped them quickly. I couldn't risk Mabel seeing it and coming over trying to comfort me. She was the last person in the world I wanted to see.

"Dippie? Are you okay?"

I screamed inwardly upon hearing her call out for me. I mustered up what willpower I had to hide my horror.

"Y-yeah...the-the raccoon just-just didn't, you-you know, process well in my stomach."

I heard her gasp.

 _Shit._

"I KNEW it! I should have cooked it longer-"

 _More the opposite,_ I thought subconsciously.

"-Damn it, you're such a fuck up, Mabel! You're such a fuck up!" She yelled in anger.

Suddenly, I heard slamming. I turned my head around to see her smacking her head against the wall repeatedly.

"STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!"

"Ma-Mabel, stop!"

She stopped, turning to look at me with teary eyes. Blood was pouring from a wound on her head.

"I screwed up your food, Dippie. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…"

I couldn't handle this much longer. I just came up with the closest excuse I had.

"N-no, Mabel, it wasn't your cooking that was the-the problem, I just, you know, have digestive problems…"

Mabel looked up at me, both blood and tears streaming down her face. Her lower lip quivered as she looked me in the eyes.

"R-really…?"

"Yeah! Y-yeah. Just my...digestive tract...you know…?"

Her shuddered breaths stopped after a few moments. She looked back up at me, smiling. Her tears had stopped, but the bleeding from her head didn't cease.

"Oh, i'm so glad, Dippie."

I couldn't keep up the act any longer.

"I'm gonna head upstairs to rest." I mumbled, swiftly heading for the stairs as Mabel continued to stare at me with those hazel eyes, holding her bloodied carving knife idly and standing there.

I staggered up the stairs and into the room. It was a small room, with two beds pressed up against walls that were bent at an angle and led up to connect at the ceiling. At the other end of the room, about ten feet away, a triangular window looked out over the woods. Oddly enough, the room sparked a familiar feeling within me, as if I was experiencing Deja vu…

Within moments, however, it faded.

I walked over and looked through the window. The woods, the trail leading to this shack, the totem...everything looked so familiar, yet didn't spark any memory in my head.

Everything must have looked great at one point. From that picture I had seen, it looked like everything was during good times…

Not anymore. Whenever I looked into those woods, all I saw was danger. A chance for some hidden creature to catch me unaware and rip my guts out.

I couldn't look out the window any longer. I walked over to the bed on my left. There was a picture of a sailboat hanging on the wall to the side of the bed. Behind the bed on the wall, there were a pair of binoculars and some unknown animal tooth, as big as my hand. I took both off of the nails they hung from. There would definitely be use for both of them.

I crawled into the bed. I didn't have enough strength left to pull the covers over my body. On the spot, I drifted to sleep quickly as I stared at the picture of the sailboat.

* * *

 _What? Where was I?_

 _I was in a dark room. I couldn't see anything beyond two feet. I searched around with my hands, trying to feel for something._

" _Dippie…"_

 _I heard that voice before. It was Mabel._

" _Mabel? Mabel, where are you?"_

" _Dippie, the monsters, they're coming!"_

" _Wha-what? What monsters?"_

" _THEY'RE COMING, DIPPIE! I HAVE TO PROTECT YOU!"_

 _ **CRUNCH!**_

 _I screamed in pain as I felt my left knee suddenly cut off. I fell over, blood pouring out of my dismembered leg._

" _OH GOD! OH FUCK! MY FUCKING LEG! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"_

 _I was in agony, gripping my leg as it continued to spurt blood out from the wound._

" _Dippie, stay still, please!"_

 _I looked to my right to see Mabel standing over me, raising a bloodied axe high over her head. She brought it down on my right knee._

 _ **CRUNCH!**_

 _I let out a bone-chilling scream of pain as the axe severed my right leg from the knee down. Blood began to spurt out of that wound as well, staining the contentless floor below._

" _FUCK! MABEL, STOP, PLEASE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"_

 _I continued to shout and plea at her, but she brought it up again, then down._

 _ **CRUNCH!**_

 _I couldn't scream, but instead gagged in horror and shock as my right arm was severed from the elbow down. I watched as it splat against the floor, dripping blood from the open wound. I could no longer feel my right hand. It was absolutely terrifying._

" _Just...one more…"  
She walked around to my other side. I couldn't protest. My throat was dried out from the screaming. All I could do was watch in horror as she brought down the axe again._

 _ **CRUNCH!**_

 _Again, I made choking noises as I saw my left arm severed, bleeding profusely. I was laid against a wall in unimaginable pain. I heard Mabel drop the axe and bend down, looking me in the eyes. I could see her crying._

" _Don't worry, Dippie...you're safe from the monsters now...they can't hurt you…"_

 _She came in and wrapped her arms around me, sobbing unrelentlessly as she muttered to herself._

" _Just stay with me, Dippie...stay with me…I'll take care of you…"_

 _Slowly, I felt my conscience slip away from me as the massive amount of blood loss started to affect my brain. I felt Mabel's tight grasp around me begin to fade away as my nerves stopped working. My brain was shutting down…_

 _I closed my eyes…_

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily. I looked down at my arms and legs quickly. They were attached. My heart was racing violently.

"Dippie? Are you okay?"

I looked over to my left, seeing Mabel sitting on my bed and watching me with those hazel eyes, filled with concern.

"What happened? Did you have a bad dream, Dippie?"

Her knife was laid next to me. It was so close…

 _I could kill her, right here. I could kill her, and then that nightmare would never have a chance of happening._

…

…

…

No. I couldn't do that. I couldn't lose hold of my morals. I didn't want to be anywhere on the same level as the animals in this world, including Mabel.

"Yeah...I had a nightmare."

"What was it about?"

I couldn't look at her. My eyes would betray the answer.

"Just...some animal tearing into my guts or something."

I had to make the answer seem realistic. Then again, nothing was realistic in this twisted world.

Suddenly, Mabel leaned in, embracing me as she pressed her head against my chest.

"It'll be okay, Dippie. I'll protect you from any harm that tries to come your way."

 _If only you knew,_ I thought to myself.

However, her hug felt...familiar. It was the same familiarity I had felt when I entered the room. It faded within seconds.

She released me, but kept one hand on my leg as she stared at me, smiling. Once again, I felt unsettled by her unwavering stare.

 _Crreaak._

Within a second, Mabel snatched the carving knife from the bed and stood up, pointing it at the opening door.

"Jesus Christ! Put the damn weapon down, kid!"

Mabel didn't skip a beat.

"What do you want?" She asked, her eyes trained on him.

The old man grumbled, then walked in through the door fully. I could see two plates in his hands, both with a sandwich and a cup of water on them.

"I...brought you food. Figured you guys might be...famished."

My heart lifted as I looked at the food. Finally, a decent meal. Mabel, however, didn't care about that.

"We already ate. Now leave."

The old man's face contorted in anger.

"I brought you little shits some food. That's more goodwill than you'll ever receive in this world."

He began receding back into the hall, but I was not having that.

"Wait!"

He stopped in the doorway. I looked to Mabel, who looked back at me, holding no hostility for me as she did for the old man.

"I...want to eat that."

"Okay."

There was absolutely no protest from her. She followed my directions without question. It was not a relationship I wanted to have with my sibling, but it paid off this time. She lowered the knife and walked over to sit by me, keeping an eye on the old man as he walked back in.

"Erratic psycho…" He muttered under his breath as he placed the food on the dresser. As he did, he was about to leave once more until I stopped him again.

"W-wait, sir. I'd, uh, like to talk to you, if you don't mind."

He hesitated for a moment, then went to go sit on the opposite bed, looking out the window of the attic bedroom. I began eating the sandwich, savoring the natural flavor it had. It was much more preferable than the stuff we ate on the trail, but I wasn't about to say that in front of Mabel.

On that thought, I noticed Mabel wasn't eating her meal. Though I was terrified of her, it pained me to see someone who was so dysfunctional as a human. Not only did she not eat most of the time, but she didn't take care of herself. Her eyes had small sacks under them, a result of deprivation of sleep, which was also clearly affecting her behavior as her brain lacked the proper rest it needed. Her hair was knappy, and she didn't smell good at all. From the way she ignored her sandwich, I wouldn't have been surprised if she was suffering from a bit of malnutrition, as well.

"Mabel, you should eat the sandwich."

"...Okay."

She walked over and picked up the plate and carried it back to the bed. She began eating and drinking, but continued her unwavering stare on the old man.

As I watched her eat, my heart ached. By this point, I knew that when she did things, they were only done if it involved me in some way, whether it was an order by me or involved my well-being and protection.

However, I decided to put that matter aside, for now. I turned my attention to the old man.

"So, uh...what's your name, sir?"

The old man was silent for a moment, turning his head away from the window to take a look at me.

"...Stan."

"Oh..okay. Nice name."

He grunted at my response. I wasn't sure how to take that, so I fell silent. The conversation was starting to turn awkward.

"How...how long have you been here, Stan?"

"...A week, maybe. That's about as much as I can remember."

I was surprised to hear this. It seemed I wasn't the only one who was dealing with this whole memory situation. However, I decided to stave off from that until later.

Surprisingly, Stan posed a question for him, answering with a low, rumbling voice.

"How long have you two been on the road?"

"A we...A week."

Stan's eyes seemed to soften as he heard this.

"Jesus."

"Yeah."

A couple moments of silence passed.

"I'll congratulate you on living this long. I haven't gone out too much, but from what i've seen, it's hell out there."

Another couple of moments of silence passed. I decided to point to his hat.

"Nice, uh, cap you got there."

He looked up, grabbing his cap and taking it off his head, inspecting it in his hand.

"...Yeah. Not really sure why i'm wearing it."

I shrugged.

"I think it looks...fashionable...on you."

I was surprised to hear a slight chuckle from him. It was a rarity to hear any sort of heartfelt laughter nowadays. The sound was comforting to me.

"Thanks, kid."

He put the cap back on. After a few more moments of looking out the window, he sighed, finally getting up.

"Well, I'm gonna head back downstairs, maybe go out scavenging for a little bit."

I was concerned by the last statement.

"It's extremely dangerous out there. You sure you don't want us to come along and help?"

He waved his hand at us.

"No, no, no. You rest here for now."

With that said, he began to walk out of the room. He stopped before he entered the hall.

"I'll be back in a little bit."

Then he left.

And I was left with _her_.

Mabel looked over at me, smiling.

"I'm glad he's gone for now. Another potential threat to your life, gone momentarily."

I was already missing the conversation with Stan.

"Alright, well, let's just get some rest for now, Mabel."

She stared at him for a few more seconds before answering.

"...Okay, Dippie."

A few seconds passed by. She was still sitting on my bed, staring at me.

"I meant go rest on the other bed."

"Oh. Okay."

She got up, walking over and sitting down at the bed across from me, but kept her eyes on me. It was starting to get on my nerves.

"Could you stop staring at me, please? We got a window here, why not look out of it?"

Even across the room, I could see the sadness in her eyes as she broke eye contact. However, instead of staring out the window like I suggested, she began staring at the ground, into the void once again. I sighed, curling up into a ball as I put my head down.

"I hope this nightmare will end soon." I muttered to myself.

Little did I know, it was only beginning.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** _New c_ _hapter uploads will come in every other day. Some days I may stutter on demand, but I will have an explanation for those days. Stay tuned for more content._


	3. Stalker

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Stalker**

I woke up suddenly, not realizing I had drifted off to sleep. Luckily, this time I had not had any horrifying nightmares like before.

I yawned, stretching as I got up from the bed, scratching my head as I looked over at Mabel, who was finally passed out on the bed.

 _Thank god_ , I thought to myself.

Once again, I noticed her uncouth appearance, and noted down in my mind to later clean her up. I couldn't just leave her like that, after all.

 _Wait, why do I care?_ I thought suddenly. _I'm trying to escape her at whatever opportunity I have._

Still, though, I planned to clean her up. I scooted over in the bed and shook her lightly.

"Hey, Mabel, wake up."

Groggily, she opened her eyes.

"Mmm...what…?"

As she came out of her sleep groggily, she began to panic.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, NO!"

She shot up, grabbing her hair tightly as she shivered. I was terrified to think about what frightened her.

"Wha-what's wrong?" I dared to ask.

"I can't believe I fell asleep when I was supposed to keep watch!"

 _I should have known._

I sighed. "Look, Mabel, we need to talk."

Hearing my request, she immediately ceased her breakdown and turned her attention towards me. Her face went blank.

"Yes, Dippie?"

Her sporadic behavior would throw off most people, but after a week with her, I was beginning to get used to it. It didn't make it any less disturbing, though.

"It's, uh, it's about time we discuss our...game plan."

"Game plan?"

"Y-Yeah! Game plan…"

I took a deep breath. In all truth, I was terrified of having to converse with this person, if she could even be called that. Every sentence, every word, every _body signal_ , I was afraid could set her off. Though some would say I should be reassured by her fanatical obsession with me, it did the exact opposite instead. What if I betrayed her in some way? What if there were other encounters like with Stan, and even though they would turn out to be friendly, she perceived them as a threat? What if she just altogether decided I wasn't interesting anymore and killed me? What if she mistook his conversation with another girl as flirtation and decided to kill her?

I almost chuckled in irony at that last question swirling in my head. I was too focused on just trying to survive, let alone try and find love in this vast, terrifying wasteland.

"So, first of, uh, of all, we need to, um, gather the proper, er, equipment..."

I was getting pissed at how often I was hesitating. My nerves had been on edge for so long, they didn't know how to ease into safety. As I was trying to get out my sentences, however, Mabel was watching me with serious intent. Her hazel eyes had been purely focused on me, looking deep into my pupils. It was off-setting, but Dipper had to push forward. I shook my head, calming my psyche.

"Look, we need provisions, essentially. If we're gonna trek the long journey, then we need plenty of food and water, as well as some more weapons and some equipment that might be needed for...other things."

I was a little relieved, though surprised, to see Hazel nodding to what I was saying, maintaining that same eye contact while she did so.

"I understand, Dippie."

Honestly, I had ex-

"I know what you're thinking, Dippie."

I was put off by the sudden comment.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You thought I would just say something like, 'No, Dippie! You only need me to protect you!'. I understand the situation fully. I am aware that we're low on provisions, and I am ready to...acquisition more."

After that sudden reveal of forethought, Mabel smiled calmly at me, tilting her head slightly as she did so.

I was terrified of this new revelation.

This meant that she had went through with all of her actions, thus far, with a completely calm mindset.

 _All_ of her actions.

As I thought about what she had said earlier downstairs, I felt nauseous once more.

 _Please let all of this be a long nightmare…_

"Th-then, why did you act so... _weird_ at the campfire, and-and in the house?"

Mabel blushed, looking down as she did so.

"Well, sometimes, just talking to you alone can be so... _euphoric._ "

She shuddered as the words left her lips. I inwardly screamed in disgust, yet maintained my composure.

"S-So, anyways, now that you get that, w-we, uh, should, uh, go, you know, talk to Stan about that. You know, the provisions and all."

Mabel looked up at me once more, her face blank. I knew that expression. Whenever she was displeased with something, she would always make that same poker face, as if it was forbidden to reveal to me any form of anger from her side. She had no problem showing her wrath to anyone that wasn't me, though.

"I don't think we should, Dippie. He could still be out to kill us."

"N-no, I mean he let us in his house, served us food, and even introduced himself to us."

"That's the problem, Dippie. He could easily have been trying to lure us, just to kill us when we least expect it."

"What? He could have killed us on the stairs if he wanted to, so why didn't he do it there?"

"He couldn't have been sure if there were more waiting outside, or if I would have been able to reach him in time to kill him before he got any further. In any case, there were too many factors playing into that scenario that he couldn't just outright kill us."

"Look, we're gonna be asking him, okay? We're not just gonna give up the potential for some stuff that could save my- _our_ lives in the near future."

…

I noticed Mabel's silence. She bowed her head slightly, looking up at me like a puppy that had done wrong. Though it was still disturbing, it gave me insight that I could at least somewhat control her.

Somewhat.

I got up from the bed, stretching a bit as my joints ached from days of constant movement. Looking around, I could see a couple things in the room that would definitely come in handy, besides the binoculars I had found on the wall behind the bed I slept in. Of course, I couldn't just _take_ them. I didn't want to risk pissing off that old guy.

I was just gonna go down and ask him for some stuff, anyways.

As I began to make my way downstairs, I noticed Mabel staring at the ground once more, lost in her own mad world.

"Hey, Mabel."

She snapped out of it real quick, looking up at me and breaking a smile. It seemed forced. She was definitely tired still.

"Coming, Dippie."

She got up, trotting over rather than skipping, as was her usual traveling style.

I sighed once more, then made my way downstairs.

* * *

"Stan? Stan, hello?"

As I came to the bottom of the stairs, I heard no response to my calls for him. I turned my head, scanning the shop front for any sign of him.

There was none.

I made my way into the other rooms, checking each one for some sign of him, but failed to find him. It was like he had just suddenly...disappeared.

As I made my way back to the shop front, I felt an eerie feeling picking at my mind. I did not like this, at all.

Mabel seemed to have the same mindset. She was looking around, watching every door and entrance hall for potential attackers.

"I told you, Dippie, I told you." She whispered into my ear. "He's planning on killing us."

"Don't rush to conclusions yet, Mabel." I responded. "He could be out getting wood or supplies or something."

"We need to be careful of how trustworthy we are to strangers, Dippie. In fact, don't trust any of them. No one but me."

I about expected an answer like that.

A couple more moments passed by, but there was still no sign of Stan. I lowered my guard, rubbing my chin as I considered what might have happened. Meanwhile, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mabel make her way into various rooms, and the sound of clattering shortly thereafter.

"Mabel! What are you doing?" I half-shouted in her direction. She didn't respond, but the clattering continued.

Finally, she came out, and with her was a large sack she carried at her side. She walked up to me, smiling as she raised the bag.

"Food. Now we can eat for a longer time without having to find and kill animals."

I was angered by her action.

"Mabel, we can't steal this! That's not ours!"

"It is now."

She lowered the bag and dropped it in the middle of the shop front, then began scurrying around to other rooms and looting them. I had planned to say something, but I decided against it. It would be better to wait until he came back to actually start talking about provisions. Of course, I would have to explain why we had most of his essentials in brown sacks on the floor.

That was when I noticed the window just in my peripheral vision. My eyes darted to the location.

 _A large, menacing silhouette was standing in front of the window, its bright eyes staring straight at me._

I froze. I was paralyzed with fear. My heart began pounding rapidly, and I began to sweat. Mabel trotted in with two more sacks of goods slung over her shoulders as this happened.

"Dippie, I got something you might-"

She was at first confused to see me standing completely still, then she followed my gaze. Upon seeing the silhouette, she dropped the sacks and slid out her knife, raising it at the shadow and growling ferociously. Hearing her growl emboldened me a tiny bit, and I finally found the ability to move. I took off my binoculars and held them as a makeshift weapon.

The shadow did not budge. It stood there, gazing at us continually. The longer I looked at its terrifying figure, its glowing white eyes, the more I felt the urge to run like hell.

"Mabel", I whispered out of the side of my mouth. "We need to get out through the back exit. I saw it as I was perusing this place. It's at the back. _Let's go_."

To my relief, Mabel nodded. After that talk from earlier, it was good to know that, at the very least, Mabel was a thinker.

"On three, we haul ass for that back exit, okay?"

"Got it."

I kept eye contact on the shadow for a couple more seconds.

"One…"

The shadow began to move slightly, in the direction of the door.

"Two…"

As the shadow disappeared out of frame, I saw the door knob begin to turn. My heart was pounding feverishly as I realized that the door wasn't locked.

"THREE!"

At that count, Mabel and I turned around, bolting for the hallway behind us. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins as I imagined that shadow chasing after me.

Through the hall.

Take a right.

Keep going.

Take a left.

Finally, we were closing on the back door. I saw Mabel slam into it, propelling the door open. I made the horribly poor choice of looking behind m-

 _ **It was right there, looming over me as its horrifying glowing-white eyes stared directly into my soul.**_

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

I let out an ear-piercing shriek as I rocketed out the door, continuing to sprint alongside Mabel. We ran for a couple more moments before I decided to take another look behind me. The shadow was gone.

As my adrenaline began to recede from my veins, I felt a massive amount of fatigue hit me like a linebacker. My limbs gave up, and I fell to the ground face-first, darkness quickly shrouding my vision as I fell unconscious.

* * *

 **Author Notes**

 _New chapters often come out every other day or every two days._


	4. The Townies

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Townies**

Darkness.

That was all I could comprehend at the moment.

 _Am I dead?_

That would be the ultimate mercy. Finally, rid of that horrible wasteland, those terrifying creatures, that _sickening_ girl that called herself his sibling…

...Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Spots of white dotted my vision as I slowly began to open my eyes.

" _Dippie? Dippie, please wake up!"_

Faintly, I could hear someone screaming my name in desperation. In my disoriented mindset, I felt a wave of relief flood over me, thinking that I had awoken from a long-standing coma.

"...H...He...Hello….?"

"Dippie! Oh, thank GOD you're awake, finally!"

Eventually, my vision evened out, and my vision was filled with Mabel's distraught expression. Tears were making their way down her cheeks and dropping onto his shirt.

"Wh-when I saw you d-drop to the ground, Dippie, I-I thought you were dead!"

 _I wish I was._

She wiped her tears, smiling down at me sweetly. It didn't fool me one bit. I could see the _**depravity**_ behind her eyes, the broken mind that had swept away whatever she once was.

I began to stand up, and she scooted out of the way as I did so. I took a look around the area. We seemed to be at the entrance of some town, in which the town itself was a bit far off in the distance. I looked up at the sign, which was posted up on an arch of sorts.

 _G av y Fal s_

The sign had fallen apart, leaving me to wonder about the name that had been bestowed on this town before this wasteland manifested.

I noticed Mabel was looking towards the town, a skeptic expression on her face.

"Let's keep going, Dippie."

"What? Why? We could find other survivors here, people who could help us stay alive."

"Or they could be killers out to rob and murder anyone who comes close to this place. I don't want to take that chance."

I felt my anger begin to rise in my throat.

"Mabel, I know why _you're_ so damn distrusting, but I'm not just gonna pass up the opportunity to seek refuge from the _hellhole_ out here!"

I noticed that she seemed to feel hurt by what I had said, but I wasn't going to give up my argument for her sake.

"Look, we're gonna go in that town, whether you like it or not. If I have to stay out in this wasteland for another _second_ , I'm gonna shove a sharpened stick into my skull!"

Mabel looked up in horror at that statement.

"No! No…"

She hesitated for a few moments.

"...Fine."

I saw it then. For the first week, I was too busy being stuck in constant feeling of fear and terror while Mabel lead the way, letting her take control of this duo. However, with her fanatical obsession with me, it occurred to me then that the solution was to simply take control. Of course, she wouldn't protest, because why would she dare talk back to her…

I rubbed my forehead. This wasteland really _was_ getting to me.

But while I was making demands, I decided to go the full length.

"And stop calling me Dippie. Call me 'Dipper' from now on."

She seemed to want to protest that, but decided to just nod.

"Okay, but...we need to sneak in if we're going in at all."

I nodded my head. That made the most sense. After all, I'd be stupid to think that every non-monster out there was just another friend with a batch of cookies at the front door.

"Makes sense. You lead the way."

I saw her eyes sparkle when I said that second sentence. She seemed to think I was beginning to trust her more. Really, though, her being the lead meant that if she got caught somehow, it would give me a chance to slip away if things went awry.

I felt a bit guilty for thinking that way, but as cruel as it was, the thought of potentially ridding myself of another monster was a relieving one, even if she was...my sibling.

As these thoughts raged in my head, I began to question my sanity. Truly, stooping to the level of manipulation for my own personal gain…

This world was getting to me.

"Alright, then, Dippie- er, Dipper. Follow me."

With that, she went into the forest, following it along the main trail and up to the town entrance. I followed suit. Upon getting closer, the first thing I noticed were the barricades. 3-meter tall metal fencing with barbed wire on top circled around the entire town. At the entrance of it, there were several sharpened sticks put together in an X formation, tied together by rope. It was clearly a defense, intended to provide safety against bigger beings than them.

In this case, _monsters_.

I shivered at the mere thought of that word. Ever since I had been thrusted into this world, I had to live with the reality that there were _evil_ beings walking this earth. I hadn't seen too many since I had come to learn of them the first time, but the encounters I did have with them were bone-shaking. From scales to fur, from two-legged to four-legged to _six-legged_ , from small, skittering critters to gigantic atrocities of nature, I had seen plenty. Maybe too much.

Of course, whatever we could avoid, we did. It didn't stop me from developing an innate fear for those... _things._ I hoped that there were only a few type of those monsters.

Yet I'd soon learn that I was wrong.

 _Terrifyingly wrong._

"Dipper, we have a problem."

I looked at Mabel, who was pointing towards the entrance as we were ducked down, hiding among the bushes. Two guards in riot gear were patrolling the front entrance, moving left to right with machetes in their hands. Above the fence, ramparts ran along the barricade, allowing for people with bows to patrol up on there. I was a bit perplexed as to why they didn't have rifles, but I didn't question it.

"Dipper, look."

She pointed along the line running around the side of the town, along the treeline. I squinted and eventually noticed a hole in the fence. There was broken metal wiring where the hole was.

"Let's head over there."

"Okay…"

I had wondered about just walking up to the townspeople at first, but decided against it. I wanted to first see what these people were like before I just suddenly decided to expose myself to them.

As we went over towards the hole, I continually glanced towards the fencing to make sure there were no guards looking in our direction. There were plenty keeping on the ramparts, so it was difficult to ensure that we stayed hidden.

Finally, we managed to reach the hole, standing across from it in among the forestry. The hole was just big enough for a child to crawl through. I looked to Mabel, who made eye contact with me. I was surprised that rather than the usual unstable look that she almost always had in her eyes, instead there was focus and wariness. Though it wasn't exactly telling of anything, it was a far better sight to look at then the one of a mentally broken individual.

"Alright, i'll head in first, Dipper, then you come in after I make sure it's clear."

I nodded. She was taking the initiative, and I had no problem with that.

We watched one of the rampart guards pass by, and as soon as he had gone a bit down the line, Mabel darted in, crawling through the hole quickly. I had to admit, I was impressed by how agile she was.

After a few moments, I saw her peek through the hole, gesturing frantically. Looking up, I made sure no one was standing atop the ramparts looking down, and when I ensured there wasn't, I darted for the hole, sliding through the opening rather than crawling.

"Ah!"

I groaned quietly as my chest skirted along a rough patch of dirt. Though it ached, I was glad that I had made it inside. We were behind a building and the ramparts above us covered our view from the guards walking atop. With that, Mabel gestured to follow, and we began to make our way behind the buildings, looking in on the town. I could hear a storm brewing overhead, and light raining commenced as thunder bellowed from above.

As we made our way along, I observed a variety of different things. The most prevalent one was the blatant wariness and caution that every single one of the town members displayed. Everyone was wearing some form of body armor and sporting weapons of all types, from lead pipes, baseball bats and shovels to spears, bows, and even slings for throwing stones.

Yet not a single firearm.

As I brewed over this odd phenomenon, I noticed Mabel suddenly stop at the corner of a building, peeking around the edge into the back alley behind it.

"What is it?" I whispered. She didn't answer for a moment. I decided to creep up beside her and view over her shoulder.

A couple meters away, a few guards were standing in front of a man with his hands and feet bound with rope. One of the guards stepped forward, pointing a tire iron at the man's face. Faintly, I could hear their conversation.

"...And you're gonna tell me what the fuck you were doin', prowlin' our gates and such, or i'm gonna _make_ you talk."

"And i'm telling you, dipshit, I got run out of my damn shelter when this _monster_ came rolling up! Had bright eyes and everything! I thought I was gonna die!"

I recognized the second voice. Gruff and coarse, it matched a certain rough character that I had gotten to know quickly before I passed out.

I was about to tell Mabel when I saw her looking back, nodding. She recognized Stan's voice as well.

"Let's keep moving."

"Wait, what? No! We need to help him, somehow!"

It was about the first time I saw Mabel look at me in a negative way, as if I was insane. Ironic.

"Dipper, if we try to save that old fuck, we're gonna end up in the same situation!"

I was put in a dilemma. Should we try and find a way to save Stan, or do we abandon him?  
One thing was clear, and it was that this town was definitely _not_ good news. I came to a decision.

"Alright, well then let's-"

"Now what do we have here?"

I froze, fearing for the worst. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw Mabel try and stand up, bringing up her carving knife. I heard the unsheathing of blades from behind me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, cupcake. Lest you want to end up as a carcass for the monsters."

I saw Mabel hesitate, her carving knife at the ready. I took a look behind me to see a short, black, pudgy individual in riot gear pointing a machete at my face. Beside him stood a tall, lanky, dumb-looking hick holding a spear at his side.

"You, boy, tell your friend there to lower her weapon before she's turned into a pincushion."

I heard Mabel snicker.

"You couldn't touch me even if I was a pack of donuts, you fat fucking lard."

 _DAYUM,_ I thought. I had forgotten how brutal Mabel could be to people, both verbally and physically.

However, that didn't seem to make the situation better. I noticed the man's face turn red in anger. He lowered the machete and grabbed me by the scuff of my collar, pulling me up and holding me against him, then bringing the tip of the machete up to my neck.

"How 'bout I cut this boy's throat, then?"

"NO!"

I saw Mabel about to launch herself at him with unbridled fury, but at the last second, she paused, holding the carving knife above her head. She hesitated for a few moments, then lowered it, staring at the man, a deep, broiling hatred for him burning in her eyes.

"Drop it."

 _Shink._

Mabel threw the knife into the ground, point first, leaving it to stick out of the mud partly.

"Fair enough. Lieutenant Durland, go tie her up."

"You got it, Blubs."

"It's _Captain_ Blubs to you, Lieutenant."

"Sorry, sir."

As this exchange went on, Durland walked over with a coil of rope in his hands and binded Mabel's hands and feet, much to her struggle.

"Keep still, you little bitch!"

He smacked the back of her head, to which she cried in pain. She stopped struggling as Durland finished tying her up.

"Now you, boy."

I felt Blubs launch a swift kick to the back of my leg, causing me to fall to my knees. Durland came over and tied my hands and feet as well.

As he finished, Blubs dragged Mabel and I together, then looked over us for a couple moments, tapping the blunt edge of the machete on his shoulder.

"Looks like we got a lot of people prowlin' around these parts, eh, Captain?"

"Yer damn right about that. I'm not sure why these people think that trying to sneak into a heavily fortified town is a smart thing to do, but they must have had some malicious intent in mind if that _was_ their plan. Anyways, get 'em moving, Lieutenant."

Durland nodded, then moved over to pick us up by the ropes that bound our hands together.

"Come on, now."

With that, we were pulled along, out into the open street. Among the sidewalks and buildings, I saw several eyes focus on us as we were herded. I felt fear begin to take hold of me as I thought about my fate.

 _Am I gonna die?_

Only a minute or two had passed when we arrived at the town center. It was a small town, for sure.

In the middle of the square, I noticed that there were several wooden poles hammered into the ground, lined up next to each other. Four people, including Stan, were already tied up on the poles, their bound hands tied behind the poles, as if they were getting ready to be executed.

Hopefully, that wasn't the case.

As we were brought up to our own poles and our hands were bound behind the poles, I noticed old bloodstains matted against the pavement below, as well as the pole I was tied against. A chill ran up my spine as I envisioned what happened here before.

After another minute or so, the majority of the townspeople came up, dozens of denizen, looking us over with judgemental eyes as they held their weaponry in intimidating manners. I saw Captain Blubs walk out a couple feet in front of the sizable crowd and turn towards them, sheathing his machete as he began to speak.

"To all of you gathered here today, we are here to discuss the recent...troubles that have entered our town of Hershbury."

As Captain Blubs went on with the speech, I looked to my right and left. To my direct left, Mabel was tied up, struggling against the ties she was bound in. Beyond her, another pole down the line, a young adult was shaking violently, fear evident in his eyes. He looked around frantically, on the verge of crying as he searched for a way out of his predicament.

"...For today, we must decide the fate of these troublemakers, as they have dared compromise our wonderful sanctuary for their own personal gain!"

I looked to my right. On my direct right, Stan was looking around, analyzing the environment, as if he was looking for an opportunity. Beyond him, a teenager was with auburn hair was slumped against the pole, offering no resistance to her predicament whatsoever. It was as if she was giving in to whatever fate was in store for her. Beyond that girl, a fat man-baby was smiling in an unsettling manner, looking around as if he was in some sort of dream. He didn't seem to be processing the situation happening currently.

"...So now, we must take a look at our first parasite…"

Blubs turned around, approaching the shaking young adult to my far left, who began trying to plead with the Captain as he came up to him.

"Please, please, sir! I was just trying to get food! I was starving for so long-"

 _Smack!_

The man cried in pain as he was backhanded across the cheek by Blubs, whose face reflected no mercy.

"Quiet, scum! Attempting theft at our resources is an irredeemable action, _especially_ considering that it was _food_."

The shivering young man looked back up at him, fear more prevalent in his eyes than before.

"I-I'm so sorry, sir! Please, just let me go! I'll leave and never come back here again! I swear!"

Captain Blubs turned around, looking towards the crowd. He raised his voice as he addressed the plea.

"Unfortunately, that is not for me to decide. The townspeople themselves must decide your fate."

The crowd jeered at the young man, raising their weapons as their eyes reflected hatred and utter contempt for the young man, who tried to shrink further against the wooden pole.

"Should he be punished for his actions?"

As Blubs asked the question, the town responded with resounding denial, some even shouting insults and slurs at the young man. At that point, the man, upon hearing about their calls for his death, began to break down crying. I noticed a dark stain begin to envelope across the jeans he was wearing, a trail dripping onto the pavement below. Blubs noticed this and his face turned beet-red. He brought the handle of his machete into the poor man's face.

 _ **CRACK!**_

The young man jerked to the side, yelling in pain as the handle fractured his cheekbone. He groaned in agony as a bruise welled up on his cheek.

"I can't _fucking_ believe you had the _audacity_ to not only try and steal from us, but now desecrate our sanctuary with your piss, you scum!"

The crowd got noticeably louder, with most of them yelling in rage at the young man, calling for his death. Blubs looked back at the crowd.

"I think we should give him a suitable death, don't you?"

The crowd cheered, malicious intent coating every single one of their guttural yells.

"Well then, why don't we fix his hunger problem once and for all?"

With that, Blubs brought back the edge of the machete and-

 _SCHLICK!_

 _I gazed in horror as Blubs sliced open the man's stomach. The crowd cheered, deafening my ears to the sound of the young man screaming in horror. I watched as the young man's guts spilled out from the open wound, intestines hanging out from the opening. The young man, without any more words or sounds, save for his quick gasps, looked down in absolute agony as his insides were exposed for everyone to see. Blood spilled out of the wound, staining the pavement below._

 _After a few moments, the young man slumped against the pole, sliding down the remainder of it as he began to die. Finally, the young man's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and his head fell forward as he died from shock. His guts continued to drip blood onto the pavement below, laying across the front of his t-shirt in display._

"Judgement has been passed, and justice strikes once again!"

I was speechless. I was shaking violently as I envisioned myself to be in his shoes, my guts hanging out from the open wound.

Eventually, a ringing was audible in my ears as I tuned out the cheering of the crowds and the sounds of my own screams of horror. I watched on as Blubs moved onto the next pole, in front of where Mabel was standing. She glared at Blubs with fury in her eyes.

"Well, this one certainly has a temper on her! Of course, though she hasn't done anything severe like stealing from us, she still passed into our camp unauthorized! Breaking into our secured paradise away from the wasteland! That is definitely worthy of some form of punishment!"

The crowd cheered on Blubs' words, being riled up into a frenzy as they were entranced in the horrifying display of passing judgement down on others.

"Now, what shall we do with-"

 _ **CrRrRrEeEeEeEeAaAaAaAaAkKkKkK!**_

 _Without getting a second further, a terrifying sound, as if the sky itself was being opened up, emitted from above. Immediately, I felt a sense of utter confusion, as if I had no idea to what was going on. I could barely comprehend as a bright, red light haze casted a shadow across the town, and from above, I just barely made the outline of some wispy, dreadful entity float down to the square._

 **"nOw** **IsN't THiS iNtErEsTiNg!"**


	5. Lord of Chaos

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Lord of Chaos**

 _I felt something paralyze me, seizing my bones, as if I had suddenly been frozen in time. I couldn't move my head, so I couldn't look at whatever terrifying thing was making that high-pitched, demonic voice. Yet by the mere words I heard, I was absolutely mortified. I could feel his power - as if, at any second, he could snap his fingers and turn me inside out._

 _ **"hOlY sHitArOni, WoUlD yOu LoOk At ThAt! It'S nOnE oThEr ThAn ThE fUcKiNg PiNe TwItS! aNd HeRe I tHoUgHt YoU'd DIE oN tHe FiRsT dAy!"**_

 _Every word he uttered felt as if it didn't belong in this reality, as if it was being torn between several different dimensions. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something painfully bright enter just within the corner of my vision, moving in front of one of the townspeople._

 _ **"hMm….WhO sHoUlD i FucKiNg AnNiHiLaTe ToDaY?"**_

 _Was that cursing even necessary?_

 _ **"YoU tHiNk I gIvE tWo ShIts HoW yOu FeEl AbOuT mY cUrSiNg?"**_

 _My heart began pounding like a runaway train. There's no way he-_

 _ **"yEsSiReE, dIpShIt! I cAn ReAd YoUr MiNdS! hAd To MaKe SuRe YoU cOulDn'T tRy FuCkInG mE oVeR wItH a PlAn, WhAt WiTh ThAt BiG bRaIn Of YoUrS!"**_

 _At this point, the entity's erratic change in pitch was starting to give me a headache._

 _ **"wElL, i'Ll MaKe ThIs QuIcK, dIpShIt, BeCaUsE i'M aLrEaDy GeTtInG bOrEd oF bEiNg HeRe! I gOt PeOpLe tO lOrD oVeR!"**_

 _Eventually, the entity floated just within his vision, and Dipper could just barely make out…_

 _A Dorito?_

 _ **"eXcUsE mE, bItCh?! WhAt DiD yOu JuSt CaLl mE?!"**_

 _Definitely not barbeque, that's for sure._

 _ **"wHat ThE hElL aRe YoU eVeN gOiNg oN aBoUt? yOu KnOw WhAt, wHo GiVeS a ShIt…PoInT iS tHaT-"**_

 _Christ, how long is this fuckhead gonna keep talking-_

 _ **"yOu KnOw WhAt, FuCk YoU! I'M nOt EvEn GoNnA tElL yOu WhY i Am HeRe! JuSt Go FuCk OfF aLrEaDy!"**_

 _With that lasting remark, I heard a thunderous boom shake the earth below me as the entity emitted a light that began to fill my vision completely. As this happened, I felt extremely drowsy, and fell unconscious. Before darkness wrapped its shadowy folds over my conscience, I heard the cackling last words of that entity echo in my ears:_

 ** _"I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU SUFFER!"_**

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

I awoke once more, this time without feeling groggy. It was definitely a more preferable way to fall unconscious, but the underlying solution here was to try not to fall unconscious as much as possible.

As my eyes opened, I could feel my back on the ground, my eyes staring upwards at the grey sea of clouds that continually flowed by in a mesh of hopelessness and despair. The occasional crackle of thunder was something I had gotten used to over the past week.

I was getting tired of lying on the ground. I lifted my torso up, taking a look at my surroundings.

Trees, trees, a path, trees, a path, and a gas station- Oh! A gas station could definitely have some resources in it.

"Hey, Mabel-"

As I turned to my left, I noticed that there was a lack of a psychopathic sibling. I was a bit confused at first.

"M-Mabel? Hello?"

I called out a bit more loudly, checking to see if she was hunting or scavenging somewhere in the nearby woods. I knew that she would never wander too far away, for fear of losing me in the wilderness.

However, as I continued to search around the area, I began to wonder more and more of whether she had gone off, or…

Wait, what had happened?

From what I had recollected at that dreadful event earlier, it seemed that some being had intervened in the slaughter-fest, and after that...I just...woke up here.

Was I...teleported?

Well, in this world of monsters and madmen, that wouldn't be too surprising. Regardless, his main problem was the disappearance of his sister. She was nowhere to be found, even when Dipper called out her name multiple times and extended the search area.

Is that a problem, though? The thought suddenly popped into his mind.

…

Holy shit.

Was I free of that psycho? _Finally?_

I was hesitant to celebrate prematurely, though. She could suddenly show up after a few minutes, and then she'd be questioning why I was jumping up and down, whooping and hollering in joy.

With that in mind, I decided the best course of action currently would be to go search the gas station. There was bound to be something to help me survive.

I made my way over to the gas station, checking my surroundings warily for any sign of Mabel or...unfriendly strangers.

After spending a dozen minutes or so searching the gas station, I was glad to find some supplies, including a tire iron, a water bottle, and some canned soup.

After taking a good swig of the bottle, I found myself to be hungry as well. Yet I didn't have a can opener. Hopefully, there was a store around here, somewhere.

Emerging out of the station, I had come to the consensus that Mabel had been teleported somewhere else by that giant triangle.

 _I was free._

Finally, with another mountain of stress off my shoulders, I grinned, jumping up in the air as I cheered for myself. Quietly, of course. There was no way in hell I wanted to ruin the moment by attracting the attention of any nearby monsters.

As the moment passed, I found it necessary to find something to carry this stuff. There wasn't too much, currently, but down the road, who knew what I might find? A backpack or bag of sorts would work, seeing as the backpack I had been carrying had disappeared along with Mabel.

I walked over to the two paths that branched off in different directions.

Left, and right.

I breathed in the stale air. Though it was musty, it was much more liberating with the thought that I was finally able to control my own path now. Looking between the two, I decided to head right. It seemed like the more optimistic path.

* * *

An hour or so later, I looked over the countryside. Walking down a dirt road, to either side of me were plains of green, short grass. Wooden fences would occasionally line the sides of the path, then cut off at random points, usually accompanied by a tree or two. Looking down the road, about a half mile ahead, the path headed back into the woods, but it seemed much more inviting than he expected.

 _I guess the landscape's beauty hadn't changed_ , I thought.

And it was true. Though this world was a corrupted wasteland of monsters and (as I had witnessed earlier) delusional maniacs ready to kill, the beauty of it all didn't change a bit. Save for the shitty grey clouds that constantly foamed over the skies, it was okay.

As my mind touched on the topic of the skies, I looked upwards.

Yep, still gray.

I hadn't seen the sun for an entire week now. Wouldn't that affect my Vitamin D intake?

That thought made me chuckle. It was quite ridiculous to think that I was worrying more about my vitamin intake than the ever-present threat of monsters at every turn.

Oh, well. Might as well enjoy the moments as they come.

They are painfully rare these days, after all.

* * *

"Finally, a store!"

Another hour having passed, I was starting to get closer to some sort of small town, as I had begun to walk by houses and shops. However, venturing a little further in, it was to my knowledge that there would surely be some sort of supermarket, even if it was much smaller than the average one.

In fact, the place was more like a general store than any market of sorts. The building wasn't too big, but it looked like it would contain plenty of resources.

As I began to head in, I felt a slight doubt wriggle around in the back of my mind. Something was a bit...off.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I decided it wasn't that important. The most essential task was locating storage for my resources, some other clothing than the same damn ones he had been wearing for a week (which reeked, as he hadn't been able to find time to shower), and possibly even a better weapon.

At the prospect of an actual plan, I felt a lot more confident in my actions as I entered the store.

I pushed the door open.

 _Ding._

Immediately, my confidence dropped like a hammer, and I froze in fear. That was the sound of the bell, when you entered a store. I had a terrifying thought that it would bring monsters. However, after a few moments of dashing my head around frantically to check my surroundings, there seemed to be no sign of monsters.

I wiped my head, which had been sweating profusely from the stress. I continued inside the store.

Searching the aisles, I found plenty of things for survival, including a large backpack to carry it all.

 _Thank god_ , I thought.

Plenty of food, water, and equipment that could be used for various things. To top it all off, I had even found a metal baseball bat! Not only hard to break, but much more reliable than a rusty tire iron. However, I wouldn't discard such a valuable item, in case something happened to my main weapon.

Sure, the problem of overburdening myself occurred at the moment, but I decided that it was more important right now to ensure safety over mobility. I threaded the end of the tire iron through one of the loops on the side of my newfound cargo pants, and sported my new bubble jacket. Things were looking up from here.

I made my way out of the store, but almost tripped on a rather sizable rock that laid in front of the main entrance. I was surprised I didn't see it-

"Huh?"

Looking down, I noticed some words painted onto the pavement below. I walked over and turned around to see the painting right-side up.

 _MONSTERS AMBUSH_

 _DO NOT ENTER STORE_

 _BELL ALARMS THEM_

 _IF YOU DID,_ _**RUN**_

Before I even reached the end of the text, I turned around and bolted. The weight on my back dissipated as I fully sprinted as far away from the store as possible, hyperventilating as I imagined the monsters chasing after me.

 _You idiot, you idiot, you FUCKING IDIOT, WHY!?_ I thought frantically.

Behind me, the sound of skittering could be heard. I didn't even think about looking back, just about getting the hell out of here.

The skittering was getting louder. I was losing ground, and fast.

My footsteps beat into the pavement as my adrenaline coursed through my veins, almost propelling me into the air with each step. The skittering seemed to fade for a bit, then grew again in volume.

I couldn't keep up this pace.

It was time for me to face them.

And so, in the instance of a second, I turned around, unslinging my backpack and throwing it to the side, then whipped out my bat.

Five dog-like monsters standing upright stopped about 5 meters away as they saw me do so. Their skin was dark grey, almost matching the color of the pavement below, which made them harder to see. Claws at the end of their elongated fingers glistened with blood. They bared their teeth at me, blood staining the majority of them. Their black eyes stared at me in the same way that a lion stared at a gazelle.

I was their _prey_.

And so, the standoff began. I back up more and more, but slowly, so as to maybe pacify them. Fighting would surely lead to death, as there were five of those bastards. Of course, the last option, running, would probably just be a more futile and pathetic death. It was clear that these animals had the advantage of speed.

My eyes darted in between each of them. I noticed one of them try to skitter forward a bit, but I shouted in anger and waved my bat towards him. He growled, then receded back to his group.

This charade went on for a couple more minutes before one of them eventually decided to bum rush me. I didn't expect it, but his quick lunge at me took me off-guard, and he tackled me to the ground.

Then he began clawing at me. I raised my arms in defense, but he began to tear at them, leaving tons of gashes in my arms. The pain led me to scream, and I took up the bat with one hand and smacked him on the side of the head.

He fell to the pavement, and I got up quickly and began to swing the bat down, crushing his skull. I did this repeatedly before another dog came at me, this time biting my leg. His sharp teeth tore right through my cargo pants, and I screamed in pain once more, before swinging around the bat and smacking it right in the face. It fell over, growling as it hit the ground.

The last three swarmed me, knocking me over and clawing at my arms, my torso, my legs, and my face.

The pain was unbearable. Every new cut was deep and terrifying. I was being torn apart.

 ** _"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

My screams echoed throughout the parking lot, but they were hopeless. No one was around to save me.

That lingering thought made me realize that I had screwed up. I was too ambitious, too overzealous, and now I was paying the price for it. Eventually, as the claws gashed into my torso, arms, legs, and face, I could barely breath. I could feel one beginning to bite into my arm, trying to tear into it, but I couldn't even muster enough air to scream in pain.

And there I laid, getting torn to shreds by the very things I had feared since day one.

My worst nightmare had come true.

All because of my hubris.

As my eyes began to close, I got one last glimpse of one monster raising a single claw over its head, getting ready to plunge its claws into my face.

 _Goodbye, you disgusting fucking world…_

 ** _SCHUNK!_**


	6. Unexpected Reunion

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Unexpected Reunion**

 _ **SCHUNK!**_

…

….

…..

Wait, I'm not dead?

I barely got my eyes to open a bit more. The monster's claw had fallen to its side, limp. The thing was standing over me, its face expressionless.

That was when I saw the point of a long knife sticking through its face.

 _ **SCHLICK!**_

The knife retracted out of the head, and the monster fell to the side.

Mabel.

She stood over me, staring at the last two monsters with absolute and utter wrath and fury written all over her body. Her grip on the knife shook with rage. The monsters, seeing her, could feel her rage radiate from her very _being_. They whimpered in fear, backing down.

But that wasn't enough for her.

Screaming in rage, she launched herself at the monster to my right, bringing down the knife once more into the monster.

 _ **SCHUNK!**_

From there, my eyes closed once again, and through my near-death state, I could hear the sound of flesh tearing, screaming, and howling.

 _ **SCHUNK!**_

 _ **SCHLICK!  
SCHUNK!**_

 _ **SCHLICK!  
**_ ….

…..

…

….

Silence.

I couldn't even find the energy to open my eyes, and so I laid there for a few moments, gasping quietly in agony as the cuts all around my body singed in pain. I could even feel a few stab wounds in my sides.

As I bled profusely, the pain seemed to fade a bit.

 _I was dying._

….

 _Finally._

 _Yet, hazily, I could hear someone's panicked, weeping voice, then something pressed against my body. I could feel my blood stop leaking out of my body._

 _Someone was trying to save me…_

 _Please...no…_

 _I don't want to live in this world anymore…_

 _I'm tired of fighting…_

 _I'm tired of surviving…_

 _I'm scared...of those monsters..._

 _Of those people…_

 _Of this reality…_

* * *

…

….

…..

…

….

I felt light-headed.

I could feel my eyelids drooping. I tried to lift them, but I felt so weak, and they came down again.

Then the pain kicked in.

Slowly, at first, then it ramped up exponentially. Soon enough, every gash in my body was pulsing with pain. I was in agony. Someone needed to put me down.

Someone needed to kill me.

Please, it hurts.

 _It fucking hurts._

 _OH GOD IT HURTS-_

* * *

 _Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie-_

I looked down at him. His breaths were labored, his chest slowly rising and falling-

 _Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie-_

I couldn't look at him, or I would surely burst _-Dippie-_ into tears.  
I looked around frantically _-Dippie-_ but there were no buildings _-Dippie-_ around. It was just the _fucking_ woods, as per _-Dippie-_ usual.

I trekked on, trying to find something, somewhere I could find _-Dippie-_ medical services for him. I managed to _-Dippie-_ find several rolls of bandages in a nearby pharmacy, and a couple bottles of medicine, but _-Dippie-_ I had no idea what they did. They had those weird _-Dippie-_ medicinal names, like Epinephrine and Prozac. I didn't want to risk feeding him medicine that could _-Dippie-_ kill him.

"I'll save you, Dippie. I'll save you."

I uttered that mantra incessantly. I couldn't let him die.

My legs started to _-Dippie-_ ache, but I kept on, unwilling to let him die.

 _Finally._

In the distance, I could _-Dippie-_ see a building in sight. It looked to be a giant, brick manor, with white marble columns lining the front entrance. There would _-Dippie-_ definitely be something of value there.

I began to trek over.

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

What the hell was that?

I turned my _-Dippie-_ head and saw a monstrously large silhouette in the distance. It tramped around, its gigantic arms swinging _-Dippie-_ slightly as it moved, ever so slowly, across the landscape.

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

I was almost _-Dippie-_ mesmerized by the sight of the colossal creature stomping on woodland, as each tremor from the beast's movement could be felt from miles away.

 _Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie Dippie-_

Shit, how could I forget?! I had to focus on _-Dippie-_ the task.

I turned back around and began running to _-Dippie-_ the mansion, when I heard a deep grumble.

 _ **Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.**_

I turned around once more to see the _-Dippie-_ colossal creature's bright, glowing white eyes stare in my direction.

I was paralyzed in fear as I could feel that, even miles away, this thing had its gaze trained on me.

….

….

….

….

Thankfully, it turned its gaze back to its path, and continued its trek.

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

 _Boom._

I sighed in relief. That thing _-Dippie-_ could have definitely tried to kill Dippi-Dipper.

I had almost forgotten how annoyed he seemed whenever _-Dipper-_ I called him 'Dippie'. I would definitely have to stop that _-Dipper-_ if I was to get him to like me.

To _love_ me.

Once that thought surfaced, _-Dipper-_ I felt that euphoric tinge of excitement whenever thoughts like that occurred to _-Dipper-_ me.

"It's not time to worry about that, Mabel. Let's get going. Dipper needs care, and fast."

With that, I continued my way towards the house.

* * *

"Finally."

My legs had almost _-Dipper-_ given up from the stress of carrying him. She was already worn out from _-Dipper-_ the earlier fight, and now having to carry an 88-pound teenager was even more trying. As I _-Dipper-_ drudged up the steps to the porch, I saw a bench next to the main entrance.

"Oh, thank god."

I quickly dragged my feet over and _-Dipper-_ gently placed Dipper on the bench. It looked comfy, a welcome change to the usual brutal atmosphere. I took a moment to catch my breath.

Now I needed to _-Dipper-_ find some medical equipment.

I looked up and towards _-Dipper-_ the front entrance of the manor. Dark oak double doors, with glass panes _-Dipper-_ in the middle of each one. I took my carving knife out of my belt, and walked over to _-Dipper-_ look in. The glass panels were slightly altered, so that my _-Dipper-_ view inside was a bit warped. However, I could get the gist of a large lobby, with some grand stairs snaking up the wall to a balcony of sorts. To my left and _-Dipper-_ right, the hallway led to some other rooms.

I saw no movement, so it looked like we were somewhat clear of danger.

I looked back at Dipper, ensuring he was still okay. The bandages that wrapped up the majority of his skin were _-Dipper-_ stained red with his blood. He looked pale, which broke my _-Dipper-_ heart.

I'd have to _-Dipper-_ save him.

At any costs.

 _Dipper Dipper Dipper Dipper Dipper-_

Those voices were my guide, my reason for living.

 _Dipper Dipper Dipper Dipper Dipper-_

 _He_ was my reason for living.

Turning the knob of the door, I readied my carving knife as I walked in. Luckily, the door hinges seemed well-oiled, as they barely _-Dipper-_ made any sort of creak as I opened the door. My eyes darted around, scanning my surroundings. The place was devoid of life.

To my left, a dining room, with a chandelier hanging above the long table. A fireplace was adjacent to the dining table, with logs stacked on top of one another, atop a pile of coal. Beyond that room, I saw an entrance to what looked to be the kitchen.

To my right, there was a living room of sorts, with a couple couches lining the walls, a coffee table in the middle, and a flat screen TV posted on the eastern wall. Beyond that room, at the back, I saw an entrance to what looked to be the laundry room. There seemed to be no doors at the lower floor of this house, save for the two doors behind the winding staircase, which probably led to guest rooms, maybe places of entertainment. I did see a tennis court outside after all, next to the manor.

All this was processed in mere seconds. This was a startling new ability I had _-Dipper-_ discovered when I had first gained consciousness in _-Dipper-_ the first week, when I had woken up next to Dipper.

I looked up the winding staircase. There were other doors on the balcony upstairs, but I didn't bother _-Dipper-_ going up there to investigate yet. I needed to get Dipper in and fully taken care _-Dipper-_ of, medically and otherwise.

I walked out, picked up Dipper, and hurried back inside. I worked my _-Dipper-_ way towards the living room and laid him on the nearest couch, which happened to be in front of the coffee _-Dipper-_ table.

As I placed him on the piece of furniture, I stood up, blowing out air and _-Dipper-_ wiping my forehead.

Now it was time to find the-

 _Click._

I stopped moving. The sound had come _-Dipper-_ from around the corner, upstairs.

Shit! I should've _-Dipper-_ checked up there. I had gotten _-Dipper-_ a big head, thinking I had _-Dipper-_ found refuge.

I readied my carving _-Dipper-_ knife once again, planting myself against _-Dipper-_ the wall that rounded the corner.

I heard _-Dipper-_ someone stepping down the stairs, the creaking of the _-Dipper-_ steps giving their position away.

I switched the positioning of my carving knife, with the point facing downwards, so _-Dipper-_ I could stab at the enemy much _-Dipper-_ more quickly.

My heart beat against my chest as I _-Dipper-_ readied myself to defend Dipper's life.

As I saw the barrel of a pistol round _-Dipper-_ the corner slowly, I moved forward, slapping it downwards with one hand.

 _Click!_

Oddly, the gun didn't go off, instead the hammer slapped against the back as if a _-Dipper-_ shot would go off.

I brought my knife down on the combatant, who _-Dipper-_ managed to stop my downward stab with his hand, grabbing my wrist.

I struggled for a bit, before I noticed the enemy's face. He noticed mine, as well.

"Mabel?!"

"Asshole?!"

"Fuck off!"

As he said this, he released my _-Dipper-_ hand, throwing me off. I sheathed the carving knife, looking at him with suspicion. He mirrored the _-Dipper-_ same look. I noticed the revolver in his hand, and pointed _-Dipper-_ to it.

"Why would you bring an empty gun into the fight?"

Stan looked down at _-Dipper-_ the revolver with frustration.

"It _does_ have bullets, see?"

He popped open the chamber, showing me that _-Dipper-_ it was fully loaded. I was perplexed.

"So that gun is decoration, then."

"It's not. I would know. There were decorative and real guns back at that shack I owned, at least before I got run off by some damn monsters."

Mabel took this information in.

"Must have been a misfire." I concluded.

However, Stan didn't _-Dipper-_ seem convinced. He aimed the gun at the _-Dipper-_ floor and pulled the trigger.

 _Click!_

The hammer once again clapped against the back, but no bullet came out. He did it a couple more times.

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

It didn't work each time. Stan looked at the gun with contempt.

"This thing is shit. I can't believe these people wasted money on such faulty firearms."

He then unslung the rifle that was on his back, and _-Dipper-_ pointed that at the ground, pulling the trigger.

 _Click!_

"Wha…"

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

"What the hell is wrong with these things?!"

He threw down the rifle in anger, rubbing his head _-Dipper-_ in confusion. That made me think _-Dipper-_ back to the town.

"You know, if you didn't notice, back at that place we got captured at, it seemed there weren't any firearms being carried either…"

"Then...does that mean there's something wrong with guns? What happened?"

I shrugged. I had no idea, nor did _-Dipper-_ I care. I pointed to Dipper, staring at Stan.

"He needs medical attention. I need supplies to help him."

Stan looked _-Dipper-_ over my shoulder to see the mummified Dipper.

"Holy shit, what happen-"

"Stan, I need the supplies _now_."

He seemed a bit irked by my demanding tone, but he nodded.

"I found some supplies in the master bedroom's personal bathroom. Let me tell you, that bathroom is big as fu-"

"Stan!"

"Right, right."

He hurried off, rounding the corner and disappearing out of sight as he _-Dipper-_ went to go get the medical supplies. I looked back, _-Dipper-_ kneeling beside Dipper, making sure he continued breathing.

"Please don't die, Dipper. Please don't die…"

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

\- New chapters come out every other day or every 2 days

\- Reviews are appreciated


	7. The Beast

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

Chapter 7: The Beast

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This was starting to become a habit.

Once again, my eyes opened weakly, my vision hazy. As I realized that I had fallen unconscious for the 5th time, I groaned in frustration. It was like the universe was trying to make me suffer both ways, where I sucked balls at surviving, but I couldn't die properly either.

Before my vision cleared up, my ears caught the sounds of classical music playing.

 _What choice of music is this?_ I thought sardonically.

As my vision finally began to clear, I noticed Mabel out of the corner of my eye, sitting in a comfy chair that had been pulled up, a coffee table pushed aside hastily. Her foot was tapping rapidly against the floor. As she noticed me begin to stir, she shot out of her chair and over to me, hovering over me as if I was a priceless artifact she wanted to touch but couldn't.

"Dipper! Oh, thank god, you're awake!"

To my surprise, her parade of relief over my well-being was shortlasting, very unlike every other time he had just scraped by danger, in which she spent at least five minutes _actually crying_ about how scary it was for her.

The look on her face was serious. That didn't bode well for me at all. Before she began, I lifted my head up onto the arm of the couch, sucking through my teeth as pain shot through my whole body.

"I need to debrief you on our most recent events."

"Okay, colonel."

I was a bit humored by my witty retort, but after Mabel giggled creepily at the joke, I regretted having a sense of humor.

"Anyways," she continued. "Stan is also with us-"

"Wait, Stan's alive?! Thank god!"

I was overjoyed to think that someone who wasn't a complete psychopath was with us. Besides Stan, every contact with humans I had was with people who were either bat-shit crazy, delusional, or just out to murder my ass. It didn't really set me up to trust.

"Where is he?"

I noticed that Mabel didn't seem too happy about my desire to see Stan, but she complied. She pointed to the entryway to the other rooms.

"He's on the second floor of this place, but I don't have a clue what he's doing."

She then smiled at me amorously, her eyes glazing over.

"But who cares about that old fart? We have time to rest, time to have fun. Why don't we do something together?"

 _Not this again_ , I thought in despair. For the moments that I was conscious, I had thought that maybe she had staved off from the innate obsession with my entire being, but of course my hopes were dashed.

"As much as I would...like that, I think we should focus more on seeing what our rations are looking like."

Mabel made a pouty face, like a damn puppy that wasn't given enough attention.

"Fine." She muttered.

I directed my gaze towards my body, and felt nauseous. I was basically mummified, as bandaging covering almost every part of my body. Every movement I made ached terribly, as if I had fallen down ten flights of stairs and hit every part of my body on the way down. The only part of me that wasn't wrapped up was my head, which made sense, as I had deflected those vicious attacks from earlier mainly with my arms.

"How the hell did I survive?" I muttered to myself.

"What?" Mabel leaned in, curious as to what I had just said then. I forced a smile.

"Uh, nothing. So anyways, um, where are we right now?"

"Well, from what Stan told me, we're apparently in Virginia."  
"Huh?!"

She shrugged as I looked at her in bewilderment. My earlier theory on being teleported by that triangle was confirmed, but I didn't think he had shot us off _this far!_ We were across the damn country!

"Okay, so with that out of the way, what are we in right now?"

I asked this question while looking around. The room I was in was very modest in decor, but it was definitely high-class. It almost seemed like a 19th century setting of sorts. A bearskin rug was placed under the coffee table and Mabel's chair. A musket sat on hinges on the wall behind the couch I was on. There were even candles fixed to the walls. The only thing ruining the immersion of the place was the giant, flat-screen TV that jutted out from the wall opposite of me.

"We're in a manor, and an odd one at that. Anyways, I need to tell you about something Stan and I discovered recently-"

"Woah, slow down, a _manor_? Are we in a town, or the countryside?"

"Countryside." She said it almost instantly, as if I was running a questionnaire. "So, look, it turns out that firearms don't work."

As I was taking in the current setting, I was thrown off by what she had said, not quite comprehending it at first.

"I'm sorry...what? What do you mean, 'firearms don't work'?"

"They don't work. Stan tried firing two guns he had found, both of which looked fully functional, and they didn't fire the loaded bullets. He even tried clearing the chamber and reloading. I think this might be some sort of spell."

I had yet to even wrap my head around our current predicament, and now this woman was talking about spells and shit.

"Look, just- this is a lot to take in, can you give me a couple minutes to think, please?"

Having said this with a somewhat aggressive tone, I felt bad as Mabel lowered her head sheepishly.

"Sorry, Dipper."

She moved back and sat on the chair, keeping her head down and placing her clasped hands between her thighs. I was about to apologize, but I was not up to dealing with this minor drama. I had just escaped death for the 20th time today, for the love of Christ.

I propped my back up against the arm of the couch, sighing as my body quivered in pain, the gashes all around my body still recovering.

As I began to relax and think, I could hear the sound of heavy rain beating down on the manor from outside. It sounded like a torrent.  
After a few minutes, Stan rounded the hallway corner, looking at us. He came over, and I noticed that he was wearing different clothing from the first time we had met him. At the shack, he had been wearing a fez cap (oddly) with some sort of sleazy suit and dress shoes. Now, he was sporting a very humble brown vest with a blue undershirt, with brown pants and brown boots.

"You conscious now, kid? Good. 'Cause now that we're seemingly staying here for a short while, we're gonna go over some house rules."

Seeing Mabel sitting on a chair next to Dipper, he took it upon himself to go grab a wooden chair nearby and drag it up alongside the group. He plopped himself down in it, leaning forward with his hands clasped.

"First off, don't try to attack or kill me. Pretty simple. I have eyes on the back of my head, so if you try anything, you're dead, kiddos."

Great start.

"That's it."

"Wait, what?"

"I don't see what else there is to go over. We're stuck in a manor, waiting for the rain to die down, not running a country."

"O-okay, then. Glad we're...understood."

Stan nodded his head, concluding the conversation as he got up.

"I'm gonna go scavenge some more of the house. I've gotten a pretty big haul, and if you wanna see it, it's in the dining room, on the table. Weapons, rations, all that good stuff. And I'm assuming that Mabel already told you about the firearms?"

"Yeah...what's the deal with that?"

Stan shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea and I don't care. That means we don't have to worry about bullets, which makes survival much easier. At least, against humans that want to kill us. I sorely wish I had an LMG to fight those fuckin' monsters that are prowlin' about."

With that final note, he turned around and headed off into the hallway. Mabel turned her attention back to me, smiling.  
"Well, i'm just glad we're safe now."

 _You shouldn't say stuff like that,_ I thought morosely. _Who knows what this world would do to spite people-_

"SHIT! There's people with weapons outside!"

Holy shit, Mabel actually just jinxed us.

As I felt a strong urge to wring her by the throat, I felt an even stronger one telling my brain to find somewhere to hide. Mabel, hearing the news, growled in anger. Without hesitation, she scooped her hands under me, lifting me up. I could feel her arms shake slightly from having to carry my weight, but she managed, and sped off to the laundry room in the back.

As she reached the inside, she turned around and used her foot, toeing the door shut. She then looked around frantically for a hiding spot, both for her and I. She finally settled on the cupboard above the washing machine, laying me on top of the machine while she got on her tiptoes and threw open the cupboard doors, then pushed me inside. The entire ordeal put me through some serious suffering, as my recovering wound were prodded and poked around.

As I laid inside the cupboard, staring into darkness, my heart pounded. I heard Mabel skitter off somewhere, and was left to my thoughts as I thought about what Stan had seen. I was pretty pissed that Mabel had just suddenly thrown me into the nearest hidey hole, but a bit grateful as well.

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Moments passed. I didn't hear anything.

Then, faintly, the front doors swung open.

My heart began to pound fervently as I thought about whatever threat out there was now prowling around inside, looking for something or someone.

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More moments passed. I heard people rummaging around the place, though very faintly.

I was getting tired of sitting here in the dark, wondering if I'd be found any second now. I decided to push open one of the cabinet doors slightly.

Thankfully, no one was in the room, though I could hear someone in the living room, where I had came from. Small chatter reached my ears, and I strained to listen in. I could just barely hear the conversation.

"Marlon, someone's been here before. Look, these chairs are pulled up alongside the couch."

"Shit, you're right, Barry. Think they might be hiding….or waiting in ambush?"

Silence ensued. It seemed as if they had just caught on to that idea, and so hushed their tones. I slowly closed the cabinet door, sweating profusely as I imagined them discovering my position.

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The tension was unbearable. The darkness was overwhelming my senses as fear began to take hold of my mind.

Suddenly, I heard shouting from the far end of the room, then the shuffling of boots. What was going on?

It took a considerable amount of willpower to open the cabinet door, but upon doing so, I found no one to be in the laundry room. I strained my ear, but I couldn't hear anyone in the living room. I began to ease myself out of the cabinet, then tried to bring my legs over the top of the washing machine to hop down onto the tile floor gently.

However, I unexpectedly began to slide off the machine and hit the floor hard. I yelled in pain as my several wounds pulsed in pain. My blood ran cold as I realized what I had just done. I covered my mouth, cutting off the scream halfway, but it was too late.

"What was that?!" I could hear from the other room. Through the doorway, I could see people with weapons rounding the corner. Seeing me, they rushed over until they were in front of the doorway to the laundry room. They brandished their weapons, looking at me with suspicion.

"There's another one here, guys!" One of them shouted back to the main hall. I could hear his response faintly.

"Bring him here!"  
With that, the two went over and grabbed me by sides, which sent shockwaves of pain throughout my body. I groaned in pain. Oddly enough, upon hearing it, the two softened their grip.

Eventually, we reached the hall, and the two placed me on my knees in front of one individual. He had messy hair and brown eyes, which gazed down upon me warily. A scarf was covering the lower part of his face, so it was hard to distinguish exactly what he looked like.

I looked to my right to see Stan on the floor, also on his knees. He had directed his attention outside, looking at something in particular.

In the hallway we were in, there were about 11 other individuals, including the ones who brought me in. Each of them was sporting some type of coverage over their face or head.

 _That means that Mabel is still hiding somewhere,_ I thought.

"I'm gonna get straight to the point: why were you hiding?"

The question was asked by the fellow I had been placed in front of. Now that we hadn't been immediately killed, I found that there was an opportunity to escape from this unharmed. I put my hands up in a peaceful gesture as I explained the situation.

"Look, sir, we were just scared, is all. We didn't know who you guys were, and it looked like there were plenty of you, enough to overwhelm and possibly kill us. You can't argue that you would have done the same in our position."

Surprisingly, the man nodded in understanding.

"Makes sense." He sighed, getting down on one knee to level with Dipper. "Look, I understand the situation. We had to be cautious as well, make sure that you guys weren't hostile. So it was essentially the same on our side of the spectrum, bud."

I sighed, glad that we had been caught by a reasonable group of people. In fact, I was absolutely delighted. Finally, we had come not just one, but an entire group of people that weren't delusional, psychopathic, or out to kill us-

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

Dipper swerved his head to the right in alarm, and witnessed one of the masked people fall over in agony as an open wound was bleeding profusely from his back. He groaned in pain as he tried to reach up and cover the wound.

Standing above him, bloodied carving knife in hand, and a face filled with merciless fury, was Mabel herself.

My eyes widened in horror, as did the people surrounding us.

"Craig, NO!"

The man that I had talked to just a second ago was shouting in horror, looking at Mabel with rage in his eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MABEL?!" I shouted at her, angered by the sudden butchering of an innocent person. Her eyes met with mine, and I could see the shame in her gaze, as if she was a puppy who had just been disciplined. That type of reaction just pissed me off more.

Our first potential friends, people we could have survived alongside and made memories with, were now completely alienated towards us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Stan, who was looking out the window, reeled backwards, and began crawling back rapidly.

"Who the hell is she?!"

The man I was talking to earlier grabbed me by my collar, pulling me up to his face as he looked at me in anger.

"She just stabbed Craig! Is she with you sons of bitches?!"

As I stammered for answer, I noticed Mabel bring her knife up in defense as the other people brandished their weaponry at her, angry looks on their faces. They began to back her against the wall slowly.

 _This is going to shit. This is going to shit so fast!_

"Is she with you?! IS SHE?! answer me, you son of a-"

 _ **CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCK!**_

Without warning, the front entrance of the manor was suddenly smashed open, sending wooden splinters and pieces of glass flying in every direction. The sheer impact of whatever had smashed through the front entrance had caused a flurry of wind to send me flying across the hallway, back into the living room.

 _ **SMACK!**_

I felt a terrifying wave of newfound pain send shocks all over my body as my back and head smacked against the wall, and I slid down to the floor.

 _Everything suddenly became hazy. It felt as if someone had smacked the back of my head with a hammer. For a couple moments, I swayed around, half-conscious._

 _I looked around, and through my hazy vision, I saw people scrambling around in confusion and horror. I heard yelling and screaming coming from the front entrance._

 _Eventually, my vision_ cleared up, and I shook my head a couple times to assert it. I groaned in pain, and looked down to see shards of glass and wood embedded in my arms, legs, and torso. I could even feel some in my face.

I looked up to gaze upon whatever had come busting through the front. From outside, lightning crackled and lit up the front entrance briefly, and for a moment I could get a glimpse of it-

 _ **A terrifying monster. It was over 8 feet tall, tall enough that its head was above the second floor balcony. Fur covered almost the entirety of its being, save for the hooves that it stood on. It looked similar to a cow, but with humanoid hands at the end of its arms.**_

 _ **A minotaur.**_

 _ **At the end of its bloodied horn, I could see one of the group members impaled, his body limp as the whole horn had gone all the way through his torso.**_

After a few moments of reveling in its kill, it shook its head violently, whipping the dead body impaled on its horn around. The force was too much, and the dead body ripped in half, thrown in opposite directions. The top half of the body landed in front of me, and I screamed in horror as I gazed upon the lifeless eyes that rolled up into the back of his head, blood and organs flooding out of the lower end of his severed body.

I looked up, my whole body quaking with fear, to make direct eye contact with the _beast_.

I was next.

As I heard the beast roar with feral bloodlust, I scrambled up, the pain of movement dissipating immediately as adrenaline was pumped throughout my body. The beast came charging towards me, and at the last second I was able to jump out of the way.

 _ **SMASH!**_

The beast smashed through the wall, turning it to splinters and making a new hole in the house. It stopped itself, the torrent of rain covering vision of the creature. But through the fog and rain, I could see its red-hot eyes gazing at me with an unquenchable lust for blood.

I knew what would happen next. I got up once again and ran over to Mabel and Stan, who had been thrown back by the impact as I was. I shook them both out of their dazed state. Mabel got up groggily, groaning in pain.

"Wha...what happen-"

"GET THE FUCK UP AND LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

While Stan seemed to have avoided the brunt of the impact that the beast had made through the front entrance, Mabel had not been so lucky. I could see a particularly large piece of wood impaled in her side. As I tried to lift her up, she screamed in pain.

I turned around to see the beast now occupied with the members of the group, who were trying to stab at it with spears in self-defense. The beast seemed amused by this, and swatted one of the people aside, sending him flying and screaming into the fields.

My blood ran cold, and I scooped my hands under Mabel, lifting her up. She screamed once again in agony as the piece of wood in her side moved about, but I had no time for that. I looked at Stan, who shook his head and awoke from his dazed state, and gestured violently towards the front entrance, which was now just a big hole.

"LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

Stan nodded in terror and sprinted out of the house. I followed suit, but not before hearing something fly past from behind me.

 _ **SKRCH!**_

I took a quick peek behind to see the man with the scarf, the one who had interrogated me earlier, had been thrown into the house and slammed against the jagged ends of the blown front entrance. Sharp ends of the wooden structure were jutting out from his stomach, legs, and neck. He gurgled as blood came pouring from the wounds and his own mouth, and his eyes conveyed horror and agony to me with one look. He raised his hand weakly towards me, a sign for help.

Then, his hand fell, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head.

My mental psyche couldn't take anymore. Without looking back, I turned back to the road, Mabel in my arms, and began sprinting with all of my strength, leaving behind the screams of horror and agony that echoed from the manor.

The last sound I heard was the roar of the minotaur, taking pride in the mayhem he had caused.

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

\- I normally publish a new chapter every other day, or every two days. If it is longer than that, than I was working on another book

\- Reviews are appreciated.


	8. Mental Horrors

**Chapter 8: Mental Horrors**

How long had I been running?

I couldn't tell at that point. My feet had given up long ago, and I was operating solely on fear now. After a while, my movement began to slow, and I dropped to my knees in exhaustion. A bit aways, through the sweat that was pervading my eyes, I could see Stan was sitting on a bench beside an unlit streetlight. My head drooped, and below us I saw cobblestone having replaced the dirt trail. It seemed that we had stumbled into some sort of park. As my body became aware of this, my legs gave up, and I instinctively aimed by back towards the ground instinctively to prevent Mabel from hitting the ground.

As my back smacked into the cobblestone below, I grunted in pain, but my energy was so depleted that only a hoarse groan came out of my mouth.

There, I laid amongst the cobblestone, staring up at the grey sky. I was angry, no, _livid_. There was no place for solace. Not even the sky offered the moon or the stars, nor pretty clouds to gaze upon. It was all a grey, distorted mass, constant thunderflash flickering throughout the neverending overcast sky.

I hated this place.

I hated this place.

 _I fucking hated this place._

Powerless to scream and shout in rage at this hopeless world, I clenched my teeth in seething anger.

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At that moment, I wanted to die. I wanted to die more than before. There seemed to be _nothing_ redeemable in this world, _nothing_ to offer. Every second I spent in this goddamn wasteland was a revolting indignation to everything good and merciful.

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Why? Why couldn't I die? What was holding me captive in this FUCKING world that wanted me to suffer so much?! Was it that fucking triangle? WAS IT HIM? I can't understand how someone can be so FUCKING CRUEL!

FUCKING DIE! FUCKING DIE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERYTHING KEEPING ME IN THIS FUCKING WORLD! DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH! I HOPE YOUR WHOLE FAMILY IS TORN TO SHREDS BY THESE FUCKING MONSTERS!

DIE!

DIE!

 ** _FUCKING DIEEEE!_**

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I could feel tears streaming down my face as my body had convulsed in rage. Yet, I was too weak to manage even a small tantrum.

This world was too cruel. It was too _fucking_ cruel….

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Just then, I felt someone grab me by my shirt and drag me along the cobblestone. It was painful, but I was too fatigued to verbally object.

I felt Mabel's unconscious body taken out of my grasp, then I felt myself picked up and placed on a bench, next to her. I struggled to raise my head, but managed to see Stan, standing there, a grim look in his eyes.

My god. How could I forget? The one sane person that hadn't died yet, and I was lucky enough to meet him.

The tears wouldn't stop, even as I kept looking at Stan. I could see his eyes fill with pity. I didn't want pity.

With the amount of willpower I had left, I raised my hand, heavily shaking, and placed it on the hand that Stan held a bloody machete in. I pulled weakly, and he took the hint, leaning in so he could hear what I had to say.

" _Kill_... _me_ …" I whispered. I enunciated it very, very, painfully carefully so Stan wouldn't misinterpret.

Stan lurched back, horror written all over his face.

"What...what the hell are you talking about?!"

I could say nothing further. My voice had died out, and the fatigue from running for so long with so much weight had exhausted every one of my limbs. By this point, I was half-conscious, but the one thing I was sure of was that I didn't want to be in this world any longer.

To my great distress, Stan shook his head, concern filling his eyes.

"Look, you're just tired. Get some rest for now, and we can...talk….when you wake up."

 _Rest?_

God, what a word. The very word 'rest' made me envision solace from this world, paradise, that for once, I wouldn't be sleep-deprived and fearful that every moment would be my last. Of course, I also thought of the nightmares that could manifest from it, as it did back in the lodge. It put me in a truly terrible paradox of mixed emotions.

However, as the prospect of sleep was introduced to my brain, it could not resist. Thus, my eyes closed, with my lasting image being Stan, standing over me with a bloody machete. Yet, in that last second, I did not see hopelessness, sorrow or despair in his eyes. I did not see rage, resignation, or delusional optimism.

I saw real, raw determination.

 **Grim determination.**

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My eyes fluttered open. Groggily, my head swiveled around as I woke from a deep sleep. For the first time since I could remember, I had not suffered the nightmares that had plagued me everytime I slept. I was so deeply thankful for that.

My hazy vision could make out Stan, on the opposite end of the cobblestone road, crouched over something. My head dropped over to my left, and I saw Mabel's still-unconscious body laying on the bench. The wooden stake that had been impaled in her side had been removed and bandaged. I had no idea how Stan had found extra bandages, but I couldn't care less in the moment.

Finally, my vision began to clear, and I could feel my strength returning to me. I was thoroughly sore all over my body, so every movement I made was filled with stutters as my muscles would frequently lock up. Fortunately, I managed to get up from the bench. Looking down at my body, I was sickened to still see the pieces of wooden and glass fragments peppering my body. In some sick fashion, the blood had stopped leaking, and I could see dark patches of trailing blood coating me all over. It definitely explained the light-headedness I had felt so strongly in that time.

If anything, I was more terrified by how Mabel and I were still living, especially myself. I had been sliced and diced at the supermarket, to the point of near-death, then peppered with fragments through the wounds that were still healing from the monster herd attack.

The pain then began to settle in, ramping up in agony exponentially as my brain was beginning to turn on.

"Aaaauuuuggggghhhhh….."

I began to groan in pain, my hands clenching my torso in a futile effort to dampen the pain. I looked to Stan, who had heard my groaning. He held in his hand a single, white bottle.

"Take only two of these painkillers. We're running out as it is."

I wanted to hug him so badly. I limped over and reached out shakily, taking the bottle from his hand and desperately trying to open the cap. I managed to do so, seeing the pathetic amount of pills left, then shook the bottle sideways, two of them falling into my hand, and I reluctantly resisting the urge to dump the whole bottle into my mouth. Regardless, I was grateful for the medicine.

I popped the pills in my mouth and swallowed them, closing the cap of the bottle and handing it back to Stan, who took it and stashed it in his coat pocket. I noticed that he was trying to light a fire by rubbing a stick on a small, flat, rectangular piece of wood with two hands. He cursed occasionally as he tried over and over to spark something and ultimately failing.

I took my eyes off the sight and walked over to inspect Mabel, who looked unusually pale. It was most undoubtedly the result of the massive amount of blood that had been leaking from the wound where the wooden stake was. She had been bleeding out the entire time I had been running from that manor, so she was probably in really bad condition. We needed medical assistance as soon as possible.

However, as I began to think back to the event, I recalled Mabel screwing up the entire ordeal by stabbing one of the group members in the back. My anger began to boil up…

 _SMACK!_

In a fit of rage, I had backhanded Mabel across the cheek, sending a resounding smack across the park. A red mark quickly began to crop up where I had hit her. In a small part of my heart, I felt a strong aching as I realized what I had done. However, rage was overwhelming my mind as I began to place blame on her for the events that had transpired.

"You _stupid bitch_." I hissed at her. "This is all _your_ fault. Why did I have to be stuck with such a _revolting_ , _psychopathic_ piece of _shit_ like you?"

As my rage subsided, I felt a crushing guilt fill where the anger had once been.

What was I _doing_? Blaming some psychopath, my supposed sister of all people, for the events that transpired. In all honesty, it wasn't completely her fault. That bull probably would have rammed into the house regardless, and the group most likely would have been slaughtered anyways.

However, I simply couldn't take the blame off of Mabel completely. I still felt suppressed wrath beneath the surface.

"Dipper. Come on. You don't hit women."

I turned around, looking at Stan, who had made the comment as he had turned to look at me. He got up and walked over, standing next to me as he looked upon Mabel.

"I'll admit, in that moment, I really wanted to slog her for such a terrible, terrible action. Regardless, no matter how reckless or irrational they can be, you don't solve the problem by smacking them around. You will be on the same level as scumbags for doing such things."

I stayed silent. I wanted to talk back, but I kept the urge suppressed.

"Dipper, if I am going to be honest with you, or if it wasn't obvious already, I am not a fan of strangers, especially in this current environment. When we were at the manor, I had planned on parting ways with you two and heading on my own. However, at this point, I've been made to realize that you two are...just kids."

He paused for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts, then continued.

"I couldn't just...leave you two, after realizing that. She may be some sort of psychopath, but she's a child, Dipper. Sure, she made some pretty fuckin' stupid mistakes, but she's only a child. She's your sibling, for God's sake. And no matter how terrifying or morbid this world turns out to be, you cannot throw away your humanity, nor your family, or you might as well be one of those monsters prowling around this earth, doing whatever they can just to survive."

I turned to look up at him, and he had turned as well to make eye contact. He stared at me, deadset.

"We are human, Dipper. We _shouldn't_ leave our own behind. We _shouldn't_ hurt our own just for personal benefit. We _shouldn't_ abandon them even in the worst of times. Even when you are stripped of your clothing and gear, even when you are humiliated, scared, or angry, you _do_ have one thing to lose - and that is your humanity."

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In that moment, I felt a small amount of relief pour into my heart. This talk, simple as it was, restored my confidence, courage, and hope, if only somewhat. I could feel tears begin to well in my eyes as I so badly wanted to hug Stan, to let him protect me from this dreary and dark world.

But I suppressed that urge, trying my best to hide my fear and weakness.

At least, at this point, things were starting to looking up.

Stan sighed, throwing down the sticks in his hands onto the street below, moving over and picking up Mabel softly in a bridal carry

"Why don't we get going?"

I nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

With that, the two of us began to walk down the cobblestone path.

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

\- New chapters are uploaded every other day or every 2 days. This will not be the case after Chapter 10.

\- Reviews are deeply appreciated. I read each and every single one of them, and they propel me to create chapters faster.


	9. The Dilemma

**Chapter 9: The Dilemma**

"God, how how long can a road go?"

For hours now, Stan, who was carrying Mabel, and I had been traveling on the same cobblestone pathway. It was starting to wear on my already-worn out shoes.

As we continued the walk, I couldn't help but think back to that sight of Stan, his eyes set in grim determination. Every time I envisioned it, I felt my dwindling hope rekindle once again. I was, at the very least, glad to find someone to was able to take over in terms of leadership. Knowing Mabel, I had to make sure I put as little stress and pressure on Stan as possible. If he left the party…

"Dipper, get behind a tree, now!"

I was put off by the sudden hushed warning.

"What? What do you- Oomph!"

I was suddenly picked up by the collar and dragged behind a tree next to the cobblestone pathway by Stan. I was a bit angered by the sudden forceful movement, and was about to protest-

 _RrrrrrrrrRRRrrrrrrRRRrrrr._

I froze, my voice caught in my throat. I felt dread crawl up my spine as I heard the deep, menacing growl…

Of a _monster_.

I looked up slightly to see Stan peeking around from the tree, watching something with his eyes.

That's when I could hear their footsteps. I had no idea what it was, and I didn't _dare_ look around the tree to find out what.

…

…

…

Moments passed. Eventually, the growling and footsteps of the monster had receded as it continued down the road. I released a shaky, pent-up breath, and Stan let go of his tense posture, slumping against the tree, Mabel still in his arms. He turned to me and spoke.

"Listen, Dipper, when I tell you to do something, it's because whatever is happening could potentially get us killed. Next time, you need to be ready. Got it?"

I nodded fervently. I held no anger for him. He was a no-nonsense guy, and that was exactly the person that would do well in this type of environment.

"Got it."

His face softened a bit as I gave him a straight answer, and he nodded back.

"Good. Then let's keep-"

 _Boooooooom._

The landscape shook slightly as a faint explosion went off in the distance. I looked around the tree, towards the other direction, and saw smoke lined with orange streaks billow into the sky. It was a sizable explosion, though not too big, but that wasn't what I cared about at the moment.

"What the hell was that?!" Stan exclaimed, standing up and directing his gaze towards the same explosion.

I was beginning to become unnerved. There seemed to be no respite in these dreary wastelands.

 _RrrrrRRRRRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRRrrr…._

The growl was back. Fear and adrenaline began to course through my body as I entered fight-or-flight mode.

"He's here again…"

"It's fine, Dipper. Just stay quiet and-"

 _RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAUGGGGGHHHH!_

I turned around. Within the confines of the pitch-black forest, I could see red, glowing eyes pointed straight at-

Me.

"HE'S RIGHT FUCKING BEHIND US!"

"RUN!"

I needed no second urge. I scrambled to my feet, rounding the tree and bolting in the opposite direction. I heard Stan sprinting behind me, but I didn't focus on that. The only thing circulating my mind at that moment was the idea of being caught by whatever that _thing_ was.

In the midst of my adrenaline-fueled running, I subconsciously noticed that my reflexes were surprisingly fast, and my awareness shot up. As I was running, I noticed tree roots sticking out of the ground, stray branches, and many other obstacles that would have served to hinder my escape.

It seemed that Stan had the same reflexes, though he sounded considerably more fatigued, most likely due to his old age. From behind me, faintly, I could hear him panting heavily as he struggled to keep the same pace as me.

Meanwhile, the roaring of the beast behind us persisted, and I could hear trees cracking and breaking as the monstrous thing chased after us, trampling anything and everything in its way. By those indications, I assumed that it was large in size, which only served to terrify me even more than I already was.

In the distance, I caught the faint whiff of smoke. We were getting closer to the explosion, which was _not_ a good sign. It was a set rule of the wasteland to keep away from loud noises as much as possible, as they would attract the monsters prowling nearby, yet we were running straight towards a prime source. However, it was too late to change course, for if we did, we would surely be caught and ripped apart by the monster pursuing us.

As I continued sprinting, I noticed something glimmering in the distance. As I came upon it, I hopped over the object, and for a split-second, I saw sharp, metal teeth glistening.

 _Thank god I dodged that_.

I had continued running when I remembered who was following closely behind. Alarm bells went off in my mind.

 _STAN-_

 **SNAP!**

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

I swiveled around to see Stan, who had dropped Mabel in pain as the teeth of the bear trap had dug into his ankle. Even from a couple meters away, I could see the leg bleeding profusely. Only a dozen meters behind Stan, I could see the monster moving quickly towards us, roaring in anger.

I began to panic massively as this dilemma came into my hands.

Should I try and help Stan somehow, before the monster got to us?

Should I abandon him, pick up Mabel, and run?

 _Or should I leave them both and save myself?_

All of these scenarios ran through my head within seconds, as the monster got ever so closer.

"Dipper! Do something!"

"Wha-wha…"

What do I do?! What do I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?!

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

\- If you should receive a notification that says 'chapter (blank) has come out', that sometimes happens when I re-edit chapters. Apologies if it pops up more than once, I try to keep re-edits to a minimum.


	10. Bad Ending 1 - Abandonment

**WARNING:**

 _This story contains prolific use of swearing, blood and gore, sexual and graphic content. If you are not comfortable with this, then consider this warning before you continue reading._

 _Then again, you're not really supposed to be comfortable reading a horror story._

 _Viewer Discretion is advised._

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Bad Ending 1- Abandonment**

 ** _Run._**

 _No, I can't!_

 ** _Run. Just run. Leave them behind._**

I brought my head up, looking at Stan, who was calling to me for help, pleading as his foot bled profusely, the metal claws of the bear trap grinding into his bone.

Mabel, passed out at the base of the tree, unaware of the terrible predicament they were in.

 _I can't do something like that! That's-They're my-_

 ** _That_ thing _is coming._**

I looked up at the beast, barreling towards me with fury and death in its eyes, glaring viciously at me.

 ** _It's gonna tear you apart and eat your organs in front of you! DITCH THEM AND FUCKING RUN._**

In that moment, I felt the world around me slow down. I could hear Stan's cries of pain and desperation, the monster's roaring, the blasting of the wind and rain, droplets stinging my skin…

 ** _Leave them._**

 _...I...I can't…_

 ** _Let them die. Preserve yourself._**

 _...That's not...right…_

 ** _Right and wrong have been driven out of this world. It's about surviving, now._**

 _...Please...no…_

I took one more look at Stan, his eyes glowing with fear, his hand outstretched in desperation towards me, slowly swiping at me.

 _ **Run.**_

I did.

I could feel myself turning around, fleeing.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL FIND YOU AND FUCKING KILL YOU FOR THIS, YOU PIECE OF SH-"

" _ **REEEAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHH!"**_

The beast had arrived. As my legs carried me away from them, I could hear the sounds of flesh tearing, the screams of Stan as he was torn apart, his last words cursing my name. I felt tears run down my face as I sobbed, the guilt crushing me from within as I abandoned Stan and Mabel.

And yet my legs still kept going.

And going.

And going.

* * *

I had no idea what time it was, or where I was.

The clouds over me torrented relentlessly, the rain pelting my flesh, as if it to exact punishment for my evildoing.

Eventually, I felt the last vestiges of energy leave my body, and I crumpled to the ground, tumbling to a stop.

My bones ached, my muscles sore, my flesh bruised and lacerated.

"Oh my god...oh my god…"

I was in pain. So much pain. All I could think about was Stan, cursing my name as he was ripped apart and eaten by that beast.

 _I'm a horrible person. I'm such a horrible person._

Those thoughts plagued me, brewing inside of my head the more I thought about the two I had left behind, _abandoned._

"What have I done...What have I done…"

The tears wouldn't stop, streaming down my cheeks and making my vision watery.

This world was the problem. This cursed world in all of its terrible nature.

And it was my fault. I had failed to overcome this fear, this cowardice...

If only I had conquered this fear...maybe they would still be alive...

I was _weak_.

I am _weak._

What had I done to deserve this?

Was it my own weakness, as a human being?

Was it my faults in a past life?

 _What did I do wrong to deserve this hell?_

…

…

…

There it was.

That fear. That terrible, horrible fear that kept driving me since I awoke in this hell. I could feel it stirring in my mind, my body, my _soul_. Regardless of my desire to die, my body would not allow for such a mercy. It wanted to live, no matter what.

I could feel my body, almost on its own, pick itself up, putting one foot down, using its hands to steady itself. Every muscle was trembling violently, and yet this revolting body found more energy to get up, to keep going.

Before I knew it, I felt myself continuing to walk in the same direction, unknowing of the direction I was going.

As long as I could get away.

As long as I could find a way out of here.

Out of this place.

Out of these lands.

Out of this _world._

I kept walking.

One foot after the other.


	11. The Mad Scientist

**Chapter 11: The Mad Scientist**

"I'm coming, Stan!"

Suppressing my fear for what might happen, I shot forward towards Stan. In the moment, I had spotted a taut rope next to him, leading up to something in the trees. If my guess was correct…

"Stan, duck your head!"

Stan wasted no time in complying with my request, and immediately ducked his head. In my right hand I wielded the machete that Stan usually carried on him. However, he had handed it over to me for protection since he was carrying Mabel.

In one, precise swing, the machete's blade cut through the taut rope just as the giant monster came barreling forward, only a few meters away from us, his claws raised above his head as he went to kill us.

 _ **WHOOOOOSH-SLAM!**_

From above the treeline, a giant log swung down, smacking the monster in the side and sending it barreling to the side. One of the trees had fallen on its side, and so a jagged stump lay in its place.

 _ **SHICK!**_

The monster roared in guttural pain as it landed squarely on the stump, which impaled the giant being. Its arms flailed around wildly for a few moments as it screeched in desperation.

Over the course of moments, its flailing lessened, and eventually stopped. The creature was dead, slumped against the stump.

I was shaking uncontrollably. I had almost met my grisly death, and only the grace of a random trap stopped me from getting mauled by that…. _thing_. I didn't dare try and get a closer look at the monster in this torrenting storm, nor did I have any wish to hang around longer than was absolutely necessary.

"Gah….Urgh…"

I realized that Stan was still stuck in the bear trap. From what I could see, his leg was bleeding profusely from the ankle down.

"Fucking...christ…."

I was terrified of seeing an adult in such a vulnerable position, especially the one that was looking over us. Stan brought his face up, pain written all over it.

"Dipper...get me out...of this!"

I got down and began inspecting the device. Luckily, it seemed to have a release latch, which I pulled quickly. Stan groaned loudly in pain as the metal claws unlatched from his ankle. He threw himself a couple feet away from the bear trap and grabbed his ankle, sucking through his teeth.

I released a shaky breath. Now that Stan was reasonably okay, I went over to check on Mabel. After checking her over for any serious wounds, I sighed in relief. Aside from a few bruises from hitting the ground hard, she was relatively fine.

I stood up, looking around, surveying the area for any more potential monsters. To our fortune, it seemed that only the chirping crickets and the sound of rain hitting the treetops above were present.

 _Why the hell was that trap there?_

That was the prevalent question in my mind. Logically, it wasn't that much of a mystery. It was likely that whoever laid out that giant log trap had also planted the bear trap, for the purpose of catching both big and small monsters alike. However, the fact that the giant trap did not have a trigger of any sort besides cutting the rope was the problem at hand...

"We need to get out of here." I urged myself. That trap had been nothing short of a miracle, and I was _not_ anxious to push my luck. I went over to Stan once more to check on him. Almost instinctively, I looked down at his wound at the ankle, and regretted doing so. Several gashes were present on the sides of his ankle, with blood staining his shoes and skin. It was still bleeding excessively, which worried me greatly.

"Stan, do you have any extra cloth?"

"No…"

I rubbed my forehead, thinking. The wound would have to be wrapped up tightly to stop any more blood from leaking.

 _My shirt_ , I thought to myself. _Of course, it'd need to be torn up a bit to wrap around the ankle properly._

I looked at Stan while taking off my shirt. His head leered back slightly as he was surprised by my action.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna use my shirt to wrap around that wound. Can you tear it up a bit so that I can wrap it around your ankle?"

Stan nodded.

"Sure…" He winced in pain, having accidentally put more pressure on his wounded ankle than he should have.

As I got my shirt off and handed it to him, he took it and tore it from the collar down. I took up the shirt and wrapped it around his ankle, securing it with a knot. Finally, we had recovered from a grim situation.

I took a moment to think as I sat Stan against a tree. We were in a precarious situation. Now that Stan was injured, he could definitely not carry Mabel, as that would put weight on his wounded leg. I would have to do that myself. Or maybe…

I looked at Mabel, and once again anger welled up in my chest. I couldn't stop thinking about how much she _fucked up_ our situation.

 _This is all her fault_ , I thought to myself. _Why are we risking our lives to carry around this psycho bitch?_

I could barely see her as a sibling at this point. And how could I? As far as I knew, I had never had any past experiences with her. I never knew what she was like before this hellhole. Maybe she was the same, possibly different…

Regardless, the prospect of carrying this person any further made me clench my teeth in seething anger. I glanced over to Stan, who was looking at his ankle. Maybe I could convince him that we could leave her…

 _Snap_.

My head swiveled towards the sound of a branch snapping. I began to shake as I thought about what horrors were awaiting us the longer we stayed here. Without further hesitation, I slid both my arms under Mabel to pick her up. The issue of this woman could be delayed. For now, the most pressing matter was to find safety.

After Stan had gotten up, we continued in the direction that we were previously running.

* * *

 _10 minutes later…_

"What the hell is that?"

This comment from Stan immediately put my guard up. I ducked behind a tree, but Stan waved his hand at me, signaling it wasn't an immediate threat. Relieved, I got up from my hiding place and walked over to where he was. He pointed forward, where I directed my gaze.

Ahead of us, through a break in the trees sat a giant warehouse with one part in ruins, a barbed wire fence running around it. It was over 3 stories tall, and looked somewhat abandoned, with broken and boarded up windows. However, there were extra defenses laying around the perimeter. From where I was, it was difficult to make out, but I could definitely identify blatant pitfalls, with leaves thrown over facade ground to make it look like solid ground. There were even those same X-shaped sharpened sticks that I had seen at the town from before. It seemed to be a popular defense nowadays, especially against larger monsters (at least, that was what I speculated they were for). Shocking to me was that, upon closer inspection, there were robotic machines patrolling the inner parts of the compound, each one armed with some sort of melee weaponry

"We definitely want to avoid this place. There's a more likely chance that the owner of this place is readily available to kill the nearest sign of life than offer cookies."

I nodded. After the past encounters with people we'd met, there was a higher ratio of people willing to kill than to help.

"What should we do, then?" I asked him. Stan contemplated for a moment.

"We might need to move around-"

" _ **INTRUDERS!"**_

 _You have to be pulling my fucking leg,_ I thought in a mix of indignation and fear as I heard the single word blare out through a speaker out of sight.

As soon as the word rang out, a plethora of the robotic machines came storming out of the compound, straight towards us.

"Shit, shit! How did we get detected?!" I said aloud in panic. Stan pointed to a pole jutting out at one end of the warehouse, which I found to be holding a variety of security cameras aimed in all directions.

"That's how." Stan said in a grim tone. "Now let's get the hell out of here!"

I nodded, and in a moment swiveled around, ready to make a swift escape.

 _Bzzzzzz._

And yet, as I took only one step forward, I heard the sound of buzzing coming from my left, then in an instant, three sharpened sticks at been shot in a line in front of where I was planning to run. I looked up to see one of those machines hovering in the air with blades spinning rapidly above its main body.

"Is that a damn helicopter?!" I shouted. However, the only thing resembling such characteristics was the blades themselves. There was a cylinder jutting out of the bottom, aimed at my general figure. That is where I assumed the sharpened sticks came out from.

" _ **Don't...Don't try to run, shortstocks! You will enter the compound! The compound! The...the compound! Talk is in order! NOW! Especially you, shirtless fruitcake!"**_ The voice seemed to be emitting from some sort of radio device embedded into the machine.

 _What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ I thought. Of course, I wanted to keep my life, so I nodded fervently, laying Mabel on the ground below and putting my hands up.

"Alright! We'll comply! Just don't kill us!"

 _Good thing Mabel will be left here,_ I formulated, thinking about my clever plan. _I noticed her stirring earlier, which means she will wake up and can help find us a way out of that compound-_

" _ **Bring the girl, numbnuts!"**_

 _Shit._

I picked up Mabel and, along with Stan, began walking towards the compound slowly, followed by the entourage of machines.

* * *

As we had entered the compound through the large gates, we proceeded through the courtyard straight towards a set of rusty-looking double doors leading into the warehouse. Approaching the door, I felt nothing but dread and uncertainty. My nerves were on edge as I occasionally glanced up at the machines following us with ever-watchful eyes.

Of course, I had a terrible experience with being taken prisoner once before, and I sure as shit didn't want to deal with any more gruesome occurrences or fanatical cults.

Two of the robots came forward, using their bodies to push open the doors, and Stan and I entered into a very large space. In it, an absolute mess laid before us.

At first sight, the middle of the warehouse was clustered with even more of the same contraptions that were currently trailing behind Stan and I, all of them zooming around to perform some specific task, from building unknown mechanisms to stockpiling materials of many types. On the edges of the warehouse, however, I noticed workstations of different types, from mechanical workshops to closed-off libraries, and each station seemed to have the same quality of disarray. Further up, catwalks lined the edges leading around the sides of the compound, with a couple of derelict-looking doors on each side of the second story.

 _So many machines, and you couldn't bother to program one of them to do cleaning?_ I thought ironically.

Regardless of the messy setup, I couldn't help but wonder how these machines had been built, where they had come from. I had a feeling that would be answered, based on where we were heading.

After much prodding, we were directed towards a door that led to a flight of stairs leading upwards, onto the catwalk above. I opted to try and glance around inconspicuously, attempting to scout out any routes of escape. However, every possible path or route was blocked or overseen by one of those bots.

I leaned over to Stan, whispering in his ear, which was a tad bit difficult since I only went up to his waist.

"See any ways out of here?" I uttered. Stan shook his head.

"No. We can't do shit with these damn machines watching us."

I had the same feeling, despite asking Stan ahead of time.

We were caged in.

That realization only served to heighten my fear.

Finally, we found ourselves in front of one particular door on the west wall of the compound. As Stan and I came to stand in front of the door, I felt my nerves grind to the edge of my skin.

 _Who the hell is this guy?_

 _Did he make these things?_

 _ **What is he gonna do to me?**_

That was the overarching question in this situation. Our fate was undoubtedly sealed to whatever this individual decided to do to us, and based on my past history with people, I was nowhere near sure that he didn't have something sinister in mind.

" _Come in."_

I heard the raspy voice utter from the other side of the door, sending a deep shiver down my spine. Yet, I complied, reaching for the doorknob and turning it.

 _Crreeeeeaaakkkk._

The door opened up to reveal a well-sized room, but an absolute mess. Scraps of metal, wood, plastic, and many other types of material were strewn around all over the place. The factory windows on each wall of the room had several cracks and broken frames. Furniture, at least what was identifiable as such, laid around as torn pieces, from half-collapsed chairs to desks filled with gashes and slices.

And at the far end of the room, someone was hunched over some sort of unfinished invention.

" _Eh...part here must be there...no...there!...Eh…"_

As the door's creaking reached the cretin's ears, he raised his head, looking up towards me.

" _Oh...you two...or three...or four or five or twenty or five-hundred-sixty-four…"_

 _The hell is this freak talking about?_ I wondered to myself.

He hobbled over to me like some sort of hunchback creature, breathing heavily. As he came closer, I was able to get a better look at his unsightly being.

He seemed to be of a darker skin color than others, which made me assume he was Hispanic of some sort. Beyond that first observation, I also noted that he seemed to have extreme malnutrition, as his clothing barely clung to his gaunt figure. A nearly-torn brown baseball hat sat on his head, as if he had forgotten about it on there entirely. I could just barely make out some form of a question mark on his shirt, which was just as torn as the hat, and his beige cargo pants had black stains all across them. He seemed to be wearing no shoes, and I noticed that his feet looked bruised and torn, most likely from scraping by the rough materials that littered the floor.

As he came up to inspect me, I was very much creeped out by how his eyes dashed around rapidly, as if inspecting every element of his environment, absorbing information at a constant pace. His face turned from extreme suspicion and aggressiveness to understanding within the span of a few seconds.

" _You, you, I've seen you before, I know it!"_ He muttered under his breath as he looked me over, further creeping me out. He then directed his gaze towards Stan, giving him the same rundown.

" _I also...also know you! A feeling of authority, but of promise as well! As well!"_

I could see Stan in clear discomfort from this wretched person's close interaction, but there was nothing we could do. The bots kept their gleaming cameras aimed straight at us as this guy was looking us over.

Finally, he receded back to the ground, hunched over and glancing between the two of us as he connected various parts of metal and plastic with his mangled hands.

" _I see...I see. I see I see I see I SEE!"_ The cretin proceeded to laugh maniacally, then stopped as abruptly as it had started, his eyes still in constant motion. " _There is so much, SO MUCH potential here! We can do so much...So much!"_

I didn't dare to speak up, for fear that I would anger this seemingly insane individual. He continued to hobble around the room, tinkering with parts in his hands. I only began to realize that, amongst his rambling, he had been constantly assembling parts of the same type of robots that were guarding us currently. I couldn't help but comment, as some part of me was utterly fascinated by this.

"Did you...make these robots?" I uttered.

He seemed to have heard me, and his head swiveled in my direction. I felt my veins run cold for a moment, fearing that I had angered in him some way. However, he grinned in a very disturbing fashion as he heard the remark.

" _Yes...Yes I did. Wonderful machinations, aren't they? Truly wonderful...Like cake. I want cake. Yes, their cogs twist and turn, so easily to assemble and disassemble, like the layers of an onion!"_

If I wasn't sure whether this person was bat-shit crazy before, I was absolutely assured now. Yet he continued on with his rant, switching topics sporadically.

" _Let me...join you...on your quest! Your quest, for vengeance! For redemption!"_

 _What?..._ I wondered in bewilderment. _Is he…_

" _I can see it! In your eyes, in your body, in your_ _ **soul**_ _. This quest, this journey, is to be filled with times ahead, and I want it! I WANT IT! Something is not right, not right at all...someone is_ _ **fucking**_ _with these lands, it is unbalanced…"_

I couldn't possibly fathom what he was insinuating behind his purpose of this, but I could definitely understand that he was…

"Do you...want to join...our group?" I asked tentatively, saying it slowly to ensure that I did not confuse or cause his wrath in some way. I had no idea that dealing with such a mentally unstable person was so difficult and stressful.

He nodded to my question fervently, hobbling around in earnest, which I had no idea someone could do until now.

" _Yes! YES! We shall go together...together. All of you, important in some aspect! I can sense it! FEEL IT! I can feel- HEY!"_

He suddenly shouted at something behind him, leading to a tense moment of silence. After a few seconds of staring at the space behind him, he craned his head back towards us.

 _This guy is fucking insane_ , I thought to myself.

"You can join."

I heard Stan to my right utter these words, and I was thrown into absolute confusion. I whipped my head towards him, my eyes reading ' _Why the fuck would you say that?!'_ He turned his head towards me, his eyes saying ' _What choice do we damn well have?'_

When the cretin heard this, his face contorted into what I could only assume was ecstatic joy, and he began hopping in glee.

" _Joy, oh joy! Let us depart!"_

"W-wait! We need time to...recuperate."

In all honesty, this whole conversation had progressed too fast. Only a minute or two ago, this guy threatened us with his bots, and now he was our traveling companion. Then again, I had no room to say anything, considering who had the bigger show of force.

Hearing my suggestion, the cretin nodded fervently once again, scratching at the side of his face as he rambled to himself.

" _Recuperation...I see...of course...Re-coop-er-ay-shun! Recuperation! I have...oil and- NO! You...humans...Us humans need nourishment. Water, food, shelter, the three essentials of survival!"_

At the end of his ramble, he seemed to noticed the terrible state that his figure was in as he looked down in horror at himself.

" _No! My body...I need nutrition! What has become of my being?! Very well."_

His voice lowered from the shrieking pitch it was at before, and he hobbled over to a large pad laying on the floor. As he picked it up, I noticed it was a makeshift remote of sorts, with a screen and everything. Once again, I was utterly astounded by the creations this cretin had somehow managed to invent.

He began pressing a series of buttons on the control pad, and within a few moments, the bots behind us receded from view, and I could hear the sounds of metal clanking downstairs. With that, the cretin dropped his controller and giggled in joy, hobbling back over to us.

" _Done. It is done! They will go get fruits and berries and candy and corn and milk and-"_

"Okay, okay, we get it." I interrupted. Now that this person seemed to align himself with us, I found more room to not have to deal with his rambling as much. Good thing was that he didn't seem bothered by it at all, most likely because of his seemingly utter lack of social interaction or general mental wellness.

As we stood in that room, the silence began to grow awkward as the cretin stared at us both, his head twitching occasionally. I felt it necessary to break the silence.

"So, uh...sir...since you're joining us on this... _quest_...can we know your name?"

The cretin grinned crazily once more, his head twitching as he brought his hand up, pressing it against his chest.

" _Me? Well, you can call me Buttercakes! Or -Ooh- Raspberry Mountain!"_

The cretin cackled at its own bizarre humor before abruptly putting on a poker face.

" _But you can call me Soos."_

* * *

 ** _Upcoming_** \- Chapter 13: The Journey's Beginning


	12. A Journey's Beginning

**Chapter 12: A Journey's Beginning**

Hours later, when we were all starving, the bots had finally come back, with tattered bags full of many different items inside. We gorged ourselves on the food that the bots had brought which, despite their looking like they came out of the garbage cans, were still a great alternative to continued starvation. Medical supplies had also been brought, on the order of Stan who, being the only adult at the factory, was a viable candidate for taking on this job of logistics, as the other options were two 13-year olds, one of them psychopathic, and a genius man-baby with a bipolar disorder.

As I wolfed down the subpar food from the blanket of goods, my eyes drifted over to Stan examining the various supplies on the other blankets, his eyes furrowed in deep thought as he picked through the various items that were laid out on the blanket.

"Dippi-..er, Dipper!"

 _Goddamnit_.

I felt a wave of goosebumps raise across my skin as I heard my name chirped in such a egregiously positive manner by none other than the loony nut herself. Only a couple hours before had she regained consciousness, and of course her first instinct being to call out for my name as her eyes darted around in panic.

"Dipper…"

At this point, just her very presence pissed me off and, in equal length, put my nerves on edge. I seethed through my teeth as my head craned over towards her, laying across the bench, a bandage wrapped around various parts of her limbs, and doubly so around the top of her head. And yet, injured as she was, that unstable look in her eyes never seemed to falter, her crazed grin directed straight at me, as if to give semblance to some sickening form of comfort. It served as just the opposite to me.

"I'm so sorry to ask this of you, Dip-Dipper, but...can I get just a _tiny_ bit of food from that pile? I mean, you don't have to take from that pile, you can use-"

Her words turned into buzzing in my head as I zoned out, a revelation overcoming me almost instantaneously. Mabel had never, not _once_ , thought of caring for herself in any way whatsoever, as was evidenced by her ratty hair, the grime and dirt that coated her skin, and her gaunt figure, the result of starvation and possible malnutrition. I had chalked it up to the pure, psychopathic fixation she had on me that led her mind to stray from self-preservation.

Now, she was seemingly aware of her own suffering, asking for food, even if she did so in such a demeaning manner.

 _Maybe_ , I thought precariously. _Maybe she's...recovering…_

"D..Dipper?"

"Shut up, I'm getting it, freak."

Mabel's face began quivering as tears welled in her eyes. Lately, i've found myself being much more cruel to Mabel. Insulting her was giving me some sort of twisted satisfaction in myself. I knew this world was beginning to screw with my mind, but I considered this satisfaction to be a sufficient outlet for now, especially considering Mabel's disgustingly horrible past actions. This was justified, and righteously only a _sliver_ of what she deserved.

"I...I'm sorry, Dipp-"

"Shut the fuck up!"

That outburst was a little louder than I expected, and I noticed Stan turn his head my way. He seemed to stare for a couple seconds, then went back to his scrounging.

Mabel began crying quietly, her tears sliding off her cheeks onto the blanket that was draped over her body, which only pissed me off more. How dare this psychotic _bitch_ have the gall to cry, when she had done so many terrible things?

Despite this, I still went over to the food pile, trying to find the most dreadful pieces of food I could scour, coming up with a half-rotting apple and a piece of burnt brisket. I turned around and trudged back to Mabel, carelessly tossing the food at her.

"Th-thank you, Dipper…"

I ignored her, moving over to the pile of choice weaponry that Soos had also ordered the bots to collect, and mostly consisted of improvised bladed and blunt weapons, such as rusty lead pipes and cracked wooden stakes. However, there were also just random pieces of material, from broken shards of glass to random sticks.

 _Of course,_ I thought. I was starting to suspect how well these bots performed, no matter how genius the inventor was. There had to be a limit to the bots' capabilities.

 _Wait…_

After copious amounts of thinking, I realized that these materials could be put together for-

" _Better weapons!"_

"HOLY SHIT!"

I bounced up in fright as I heard a high-pitched, scratchy voice rasp in my ear. I stumbled back, one of my hands scratching against something sharp.

"Ow, fuck!"

I looked down to see a long cut bleeding profusely from the side of my hand, my vision focusing on one of the shards of glass that was spattered with my blood.

 _Fucking psycho_ , I thought in anger, looking up at Soos. Of course, I was smart enough not to say that to his voice, especially when he had complete command of the several killing machines within this facility. I opted to move over to the medical pile, picking up some bandages and wrapping it around my hand. I felt something was missing in this process, but I dismissed the thought, as I was too focused on Soos' crazed rambling as he hobbled along with me.

" _That's what you were thinking, huh? Over there, huh? Weapons...weapons of mass destructio- NO! Fucking idiot- it's okay! Infection- so, Dipper, right? Dipper, Big Dipper, Little Dipper, we have something here, Dipper! Weapons and medicine and food and MORE WEAPONS! Safety, that is number one! We are numbers- all of us. Winding down, whittling, until our population dwindles...We will kill, to survive, the man sits in that tower of Doom. So, you figured it out, huh?"_

I had almost missed the question he had posed at the end of his rant.

"Ah-er, yeah, the, uh, weapons…"

" _Good, good! Well then, assemble your cardinal components."_

And as abruptly as that, he left, hobbling towards Stan to ramble about whatever insane drivel came out of his mouth. I took the liberty of going back over to the weapons pile and looking over the various materials before me.

 _A club…_

 _A spear…_

 _A knife…_

As my mind wandered, I began to come up with more creative, if not sadistic ideas.

 _A nail bat…_

 _An improvised knuckle duster…_

 _A makeshift hammer…_

It was just then that I had a sudden revelation of my own thoughts. I rubbed my forehead shamefully.

"What am I doing?" I muttered to myself. "Thinking of weapons to make from scraps...this is just pathetic."

Regardless, it was the world we lived in now, one of cruel, unforgiving monsters, both human and inhuman. A means of defense was at the same level as water and food nowadays.

 _Very well_ , I thought begrudgingly. _Whatever is needed to survive…_

* * *

An hour or so later, I had laid out a fine assortment of handcrafted, improvised weaponry before. From blunt to blade, it was almost artful, in a crude and gruesome kind of fashion. I took up a makeshift spear, which consisted of a long metal rod with a sharpened piece of metal welded to the end, courtesy of Soos. I made sure to also duct tape a strap to it, so that I could sling it around my shoulder when traveling. I also took up a self-fashioned belt of sorts, which was just pieces of leather welded together and made adjustable, also the courtesy of Soos.

 _I never knew how handy a mad genius could be in times like these…_ I thought humorously to myself. Finally, I took up a rustic hunting knife, which had been found after some time scrounging in the pile of weapons and material. It was only now, after looking over my crude assortment of weaponry, that I realized just how dangerous it was to sift through that pile of jagged and rusty material. Surely, a bad cut could lead to infection very easily, and that was a dreadful way to pass.

Thus, with my kit assembled, I felt my confidence boost in myself, in spite of this world's cutthroat and desolate circumstances, especially the effect it had on me.

"Can you stand now, Mabel?"

At the mention of _her_ name, I couldn't help but feel a knot of seething anger burst forth in my chest. I glanced over to where Stan was trying to help Mabel up onto her feet, to which she looked (much to my satisfaction) to be in a dreary state.

 _If only she'd just fucking waste away, things would be so much...easier._

"Dipper, Soos, come over here."  
Hearing Stan speak up, I perked up, nodding as his eyes met mine and walked over to where he stood.

"Dipper…"

As I came closer, I heard Mabel mutter my name, that same adoring tone still coating her words like syrup. I glanced at her, if only for a second, to see that same adoration mirrored in her eyes, as if I was her idol, no, a _god_ in her image. My wrath turned to pity as I realized that, no matter how much I abused and tortured this girl, she would still hold me in that same light. It was a terrible revelation, yet it still didn't excuse her past.

" _Time? Time is what we need, yes,_ _ **need**_ _. We will-"_

"Listen up, you two."

Stan cut off Soos mid-ramble, and it was so quick and subtle as Stan carried on talking that I almost didn't catch the jaw-dropping event. I was doubly surprised at how Stan asserted authority quickly over this rambling, insane cretin.

"We're going to need to figure out what to do next. We got a couple options. First and foremost, we _could_ bunker up here for a while-"

"Yes! That sounds _amazing!"_

Stan made an irritated expression as I interrupted him, but I was much too into my argument before he could cut me off.

"We got a _large_ facility, with _several_ rooms, an _army_ of _bots_ , a _genius_ at our disposal (despite being bat-shit crazy)-"

" _I don't appreciate the usage of that term, Dipnut-"_

"-And a _whole damn fence_ around the perimeter! This place could not be _more perfect_ for this shitty situation!"

"Dipper, I get that, but-"

"But what? This is the _optimal_ situation for-"

"Dipper, shut the fuck up!"

I leered back at the authoritative tone that Stan took up, cutting me off from my eager rant. As he stared me down, I felt an instinctive urge to keep my eyes down, and did so submissively.

" _What the fuck did you just-"_

"M-Mabel, it's fine."

As I heard Mabel's face turn red in rage at the statement, I felt it necessary to calm herself before she did anything irrational once again. Her gaze whipped towards me and, within a second, all of the rage fell from her expression, replaced with glazed eyes that followed my every movement fanatically.

"Yes, Dipper."

I sighed, looking back at Stan.

"...Sorry." I muttered. I was inwardly pissed that he had done that and wanted badly to tell him off, but for some reason I felt as if all my courage had been drained out of my body. Stan's eyes softened as he noticed the interaction, and he cleared his throat.

"It's fine..." Stan muttered. "Now, as I was saying, that _sounds_ like a good idea. However, unless any of you know of every single type of monster out there, you should be aware that I _myself_ have seen some monsters that could step on this fortress without even noticing it, as well as flying monsters, monsters that can scale walls like they're nothing…"

Stan took a breath.

"You get the point. Then there's the problem with scavenging. As vast as this region is, we live in a world now where food and supplies are already scarce. People seemed to have either banded together or gone lone wolf, and with them they're already taking their fair share of said supplies, along with the monsters. Staying in one place, we'll inevitably drain the surrounding resources."

As Stan went on with his explanation, I couldn't help but start to agree with his logic.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have jumped the gun so quickly like that…_ I thought to myself.

"...Now, there is a second option. Soos here-"

" _Present, teacher!"_

"...Yeah. Anyways, he has suggested, or rather _prophesied_ that there is some sort of fortune and glory and yada-yada to be found by heading east. Now, do understand that-"

"We're gonna trust the words of a fuckin' madma-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Stan whipped over towards me and grabbed me by the shoulder, bringing me down into a sort of football huddle as he spoke to me.

" _Dipper, he's right fucking there."_

"R-right…"

"Look…" He sighed. "I know it seems crazy to trust this guy, but what-the-hell else are we gonna do? I already explained the _many_ cons of staying here, unless you want me to reiterate-"

"No i'm good."

"-Then understand that the redemption or whatever he was talking about that is east is probably _good fortune_. Think about it. This guy may be eating his shoes and spouting crazy shit, but he invented these _bots_ -" He said this as he waved his hand towards a couple of said bots driving and hovering around the facility. "-And, frankly, I think he's onto something."

I made a face at that statement.

"What the hell do you mean, _he's onto something?_ He may be _on_ something, but I certainly don't think that lunatic is-"

"Look. Where else are we gonna go? What choice do we have? You wanna go north? South? West? Who gives a shit? No matter what direction we head in, we're just surviving and scraping by, until eventually we reach a point where we just get ripped apart by some monster, or killed by some fanatical gang, or step into a _fucking bear trap in the woods and bleed out_. We can keep going like that, or, maybe, _just maybe_...we could find the problem to why this world is such a fucking hellhole and _solve_ it."

I had a snarky rejoinder at the ready, in response to his supposed 'solve the problem' scenario, but I felt that pissing him off would only serve to make me suffer in the long run. On the other hand, he had a point. There really wasn't a difference which direction we headed, as we would just be surviving in the end.

I sighed in resignation, my shoulders slumping.

"...Fuck it. Whatever we need to do."

Stan nodded, then receded back to his spot, standing in front of us three. He craned his eyes, looking over each and every single one of us.

"So, what's the decision."

Mabel immediately responded.

"I'll go with whatever Dipper says."

"Naturally."

Soos seemed to have taken interest in his own toes, but had somehow been listening to the conversation as well.

" _East. East is the beast, the least, the yeast, the deceased-"_

"Dipper? It's up to you, essentially."

I was a bit annoyed by his acting like I was making a grand decision here. He had basically muscled me into the only choice, but it wasn't like I cared either way.

"East. Sure."

Soos made some sort of disgusting chortle which I took to be a satisfied grunt.

" _Wonderful, simply marvelous! Like sparrows in the winter heading north, we head east unto our prophecy, our destiny, our-"_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, cool. Alright, it looks like we've traced our destination out-"

" _I'm already tracer."_

Stan seemed more than irked by Soos' constant rambling and interruptions, but nonetheless cleared his throat and struck a heroic sort of pose, staring into the distance, much to my cringe.

"It seems we're heading east, then."

* * *

Upcoming \- _**Chapter 13: A Band of Survivors**_


	13. A Band of Survivors

**Chapter 13: A Band of Survivors**

" _O Hamlet, doth thou instigate a pretentious sort of visit from the demons below? Or hath thee a speck of Aesop's power to foretell the destiny of those in betwixt light and darkness? Hark, drive thyself to-"_

 _Fucking kill me, please,_ I thought in agony.

Ever since we had stumbled upon a library in our travels, Soos had gone ham on the whole selection of the _Classics_ section. He had delved into almost every book he could find, and after only seemingly minutes of profuse page-flipping, he seemed to have taken a liking to Shakespearean English, and _would not stop speaking in the FUCKING dialect._ Six hours into the travel by foot and I was now ready to shove my makeshift knife into my throat and end it all.

"Let's stop here."

I looked up towards the voice to see Stan, who was at the front of our formation. Mabel, of course, was nearly clung to me, though in a much worse state than before. She was coughing a lot, though she made sure to cough away from me whenever she did. As much as I despised her, I had to give her credit for looking out for my health, even in a terrible condition. This psychopath was dedicated.

Meanwhile, the bots that had surrounded us in a protective perimeter were stopped by Soos, who tapped away at the device like some sort of poet writing, most likely a result of mimicking Classical culture.

I suddenly felt myself cough a few times, but I didn't consider anything of it. Hopefully, Mabel wasn't getting me sick.

"...Help….Please…"

From the distance, I heard sounds of screaming and yelling in panic. My heart began to race as I sensed danger from that direction, and yet my curiosity was peaked.

" _By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. Open, locks, Whoever knocks!"_ Soos spewed randomly.

"Ignore them."

I was surprised by what Stan had just said to me, turning my head towards him.

"What?"

"Ignore them. Everyone has to deal with their own battles in this world. We can't risk our lives trying to help them."

He wore a grim expression on his face, as if he was used to doing this. In my mind, I had no reason to disagree with him, as I was fearful for my own life. And yet…

Something in my chest was rebelling, _resisting_ what my mind was set on. Something made me feel as if I couldn't just leave them.

 _Stop it,_ I thought to myself firmly, trying to suppress my emotions. _I can't go off-_

" **HELP…!"**

The single word rang in my ears, shaking my very bones.

So full of emotion, desperation, anger, sorrow...

The singular word stirred so many emotions within me.

Without further thought, I took off running towards the sound, the wind whistling past my ears. I could hear the faint sounds of Stan protesting loudly in shock as I was running off.

" _HELP! PLEASE, OH GOD!"_

The screams were getting louder as I closed the gap between myself and the people in distress. My heart was pumping with adrenaline as my fear shot up, and yet…

I felt bold. _Emblazoned_ with bravery.

" _AAAHHH!"_

Finally, I made it through the clearing of trees, which opened up to a small gas station tucked behind the folds of pinewood. The next thing I noticed, however, was the giant beast that stood over the gas station.

Its head, which sported goat horns that curved backwards, blunted teeth, and glowing red eyes, was peeking in towards the entrance of the gas station, reaching in with one claw to try and swipe at a terrified group of people huddled inside the gas station. The sliding doors had been ripped off their hinges and thrown to the side, leaving a large crater in the front, where the beast was reaching into.

I shivered in fear as I gazed upon the beast, who had not yet noticed my presence, his gaze too focused on the terrified group inside the gas station.

 _You could just leave._

 _Leave them to die, and save yourself._

 _They're dead anyways._

 _How are you going to stop that giant beast?_

Despite my conscience picking away at my mind, trying to cave me in to cowardice, the feeling in my chest did not fade away.

I felt...brave. Courageous.

I came to a decision, and I began scanning the environment around the gas station for a plan.

The beast, in its efforts to grab at the people inside, had caused one of the gas lines to rip. Oil was leaking all over the floor, and especially around the beast's feet, into its fur…

My mind lit up with an idea.

"HEY, YOU GUYS!" I shouted towards the huddle group inside. One of them, a younger woman, heard me and looked, her face a mixture of relief and desperation.

"HELP US, PLEASE!" She shouted in fear.

"I WILL, BUT YOU NEED TO DO SOME THINGS FOR ME!"

She nodded her head, not daring to waste time questioning what I had in mind.

"DO YOU HAVE A LIGHTER ON YOU?"

She pulled one out of her pocket immediately, which I could see, even from the distance I was at. To my relief, the beast had still seemingly not focused on me.

"NOW, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING FLAMMABLE, THAT CAN BE THROWN FAR?"

The woman looked around desperately, trying to find something as he was describing.

 _CRACK!_

She and her group screamed in fear as the metal canopy over the gas pumps was starting to break under the weight of the beast, who was using it as a resting place for his other paw.

"I, UM, UM-" She stuttered, frantically looking around for what I had described.

"COME ON, NOW!"

"HERE!" She finally proclaimed, picking up a sparkler from the floor and holding it against her chest tightly, looking at Dipper with fear in her eyes.

"WHAT DO I DO, NOW?!"

I took a deep breath, trying to prep myself for the risky maneuver I was about to pull.

"GET READY TO LIGHT AND THROW THAT SPARKLER IN THE OIL AROUND THAT FUCKER'S FEET WHEN I TELL YOU!" I shouted back. She nodded frantically, and without another second of thought, I sprinted forward towards the gas station, aiming in between the gushing oil tanks under the metal canopy in front of the entrance.

"HEY, YOU BIG BITCH!" I shouted at the monster, trying to attract its attention.

 _What the FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!_ My inner conscience was screaming at me, sending panic signals all around my body. And yet, I kept headstrong in my task.

The beast lifted its head up as it noticed me and stared at me with its glowing red eyes, sending a terrible shiver down my spine and into my bones. It took all I had to keep going with my plan.

Its claw was still reaching forward at the group in the station, and I took this moment to gun it towards its forearm, thrusting my spear into the beast's skin.

 _Schlick._

" _ **ROOAAAAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH!"**_

The powerful, angry roar nearly caused me to faint as it rang in my ears like a megaphone. In the moment of adrenaline, I was unfazed by its attempted disorientation, and hopped over the arm. I could feel the beast's eyes on my back as he lowered himself to look at me, and I noticed its arm shifting away from the group and towards me slowly, as it was bent at an awkward angle.

 _CREEEAAAAAK._

The metal canopy could barely sustain any more pressure from the giant beast leaning on it, and I knew it was time.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!" I shouted back at the group, who took no time doing just that and fleeing. "LADY, LIGHT AND THROW THE SPARKLER _NOW!"_

I had no time to look back and make sure she was doing it. All I focused on was getting out of range of the beast's swiping claw, which was angling towards me.

 _FwOOOOMPH!_

I heard the fire of the gasoline light from behind me, and I knew what came next. Instinctively, I took a few more strides to get as far away as I could, then dove for the ground, covering my head and ears.

 _ **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!**_

Even with my ears covered, the sound that reverberated from the explosion sent my prone body flying a couple meters backwards, and I landed in the grass with a hard smack. I could feel my skin singing with the heat waves that had traveled.

I was surely disoriented by the blast. Despite this, I could see clearly as I lifted my head up, and I witnessed the giant beast before me, engulfed in flames, half of his body melting. He was flailing around wildly as he screamed in pain, which pierced my ears from the pure amount of volume he was producing from his maw.

Eventually, his flailing slowed, and he remained still, having painfully died, his body burning over the remains of the gas tanks.

…

…

…

From the other side, I noticed Stan, Mabel, Soos, and the group from the gas station meeting with one another, and I was anxious to make sure that Mabel didn't scare them off. I got up shakily from the ground, my heart still pounding away like a train from the experience. I made my way over to the group that was amassed by the trees.

"...Don't know where he is?! Where the fuck is he?!"

I could hear Stan's panicked, angry voice as I got closer to the group, and I felt a wave of reassurance washed over me.

"Guys…" I said, huffing heavily as the full-on sprint I had made caught up to me now, my adrenaline receding from my veins. Stan's face shifted from the woman to me, and I saw his eyes fill with relief. He rushed over to me and surprised me with a bear hug.

"Thank God! Thank God!" He kept chanting to himself, and shortly Mabel joined in, hugging me from behind weakly. As much as I detested her, the extra hug was consolation to me. I was glad to have people that cared about me in this terrible, terrible world.

Stan's hug was cut off quickly, and he grabbed my shoulders, his face contorting in outrage.

" _What the hell, Dipper?! I fuckin' told you to IGNORE the threat, and you run TOWARDS it?!"_

I felt ashamed as he chastised me. Granted, everything was telling me that what I was doing was incredibly stupid, but in the end…

I looked at the group that I had saved, who were making their way over to me as well. Within moments, I was enveloped with people hugging and crying over me, overwhelming me with emotions.

"Thank you...Thank you…"

Praise and thanks were muttered into my ears. I had no idea how to respond, so I just stood there, taking in their emotional relief.

After a few more moments, they let go of me, and the lady that had used the sparkler came forward, smiling at me with tears in her eyes. Now that I saw her close up, despite all the dirt and grime covering her, she was relatively pretty. She had black hair tied up in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and looked to be in her 20s.

"Thank you so much, friend. You saved our lives from that beast. Thank you."

"Um...you're welcome." I was lost for words. How did you respond to someone who was thanking you for saving their life?

She outstretched her hand to me, and I shook it.

"I'm Amy."

Another person popped forward from the group, an athletic-looking male with blonde hair, blue eyes, a scar stretching across his nose, and looking to be in his 20s as well.

"I'm Josh."

A shorter female with glasses, brown hair tied up in a bun, brown eyes, and looking to be around 17-18, came forward shyly, waving slightly.

"I'm...Mary."

Another male came forward, his eyes darting around constantly, seemingly in fear. He had short dark-brown hair and a circle beard, brown eyes, and looked to be in his 20s. As he spoke, Dipper could hear a distinct Irish accent accompany his speech.

"I'm, uh, Sean. Nice to meet you."

Finally, a short, stocky man came from behind the rest of the group, looking to be of Italian descent, having slicked-back black hair and brown eyes. He looked to be much older than the young adults next to him, and he seemed to be much more grim in his facial features than they were. When he spoke, it was accompanied with a thick Italian accent.

"I'm Vito. Nice to meet you."

 _Quite an interesting group of people._ I thought to myself. _Strange, but...at least they're not insane or trying to kill me._

With that, I attempted a smile towards the group.

"Hello. I'm Dipper."

"Alright, enough of this." Stan interrupted, stepping into the conversation. "Look, your lives were saved, and we wish you good luck on the road."  
Immediately, Amy's face became plagued with fear.

"Wh-what?"

"What? I simply wished you good luck on the road. We have to be going now."

"N-No! Please...we came to the gas station to try and scavenge for more supplies, because were we already empty, and that's when that dreadful monster attacked us!"

"Well, what's the hustle, then?" Stan pointed back at the gas station, which was still standing, despite the massive, fiery corpse and debris in front of it. "You can still get your supplies. Avoid the giant dead monster body and pick up your-"

 _CRACK!_

We all watched on as the gas station, which was already crumbling from the collapse of the metal canopy, implode in on itself, leaving behind rubble and ruins.

"...Shit."

Stan looked back to see everyone staring at him.  
"What are you lookin' at me for?!"

"Please, sir! We can't survive in this harsh world without supplies, I'm sure you know this! You've been on the road, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Stan, they should join."

I knew I was going to face Stan's angered gaze from saying that, but I wanted to stand my ground. My cowardice was yelling at me to back down, but I pushed it down into my gut and pressed on.

"Look, we only have _four_ people in our group, and one of them is incapable of fighting, and the other is...well…"

" _There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune! Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries! On such a full sea are we now afloat!"_

"...You get my point."

Stan stood silent.

"What I'm trying to say, Stan, is that we could definitely do with some more able-bodied people. For fighting, for setting up camp in the future, for protection, and all that." I turned my attention to the group. "If you guys _do_ join our group, you'll contribute to what we need to have done, right?"

All of them nodded adamantly, and I turned my head back to Stan, my point having been made.

"...Fuck's sake. Fine. _However…"_

He walked over towards the group, peering at them with his eyes.

"...I don't trust any of you right now, so you'll do as I say, when I say it. Got it?"

They all nodded, despite a clear rebelliousness in the eyes of the teenager and young adults.

 _My god, even in this terrible world, there's still that._

And yet, seeing the sight, I felt relief. It reminded me of...of…

Of what?

Something, I'm sure...I just can't tell.

Not yet, at least.

" _Ooh, new members for the band of survivors, eh? Wonderful, simply marvelous, MARVELOUS! Marbled cake, now that is a simply scrumptious meal-"_

As I watched the group members listen to the driveling of our madman, I couldn't help but crack a smile as I saw their disturbed expressions.

This was going to be quite the trip.

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 _Apologies for the long break, my friends. There was a lot going on, but I will be back with doing this. There should be at least one chapter coming out biweekly, though I may create more if there is popular reception to this series._

 _If you like medieval fantasy, check out my other series - **Doki Doki: Worlds Collide**_

 _If you like Steampunk and Gravity Falls, check out my other series - **Steampunk Falls: Victorian Ventures**_

 _If you like Dark Fantasy, check out my other series - **The Stygian Legacy: New Lands**_


	14. The First City

**Chapter 14: The First City**

"My feet hurt…"

"This fly needs to fuck off…"

"Does no one see that colossally humongous monster walking in the distance?!"

As I heard the complaints of our new group members, I couldn't help but sigh heavily. This had been going for a day now, and it was irritating the shit out of me.

 _How did these people survive before they met us?_ I thought to myself.

"Shut up, you goddamn babies. I've had to listen to this shit for an entire day now, and I'm about to send you on your way if you keep it up."

I could sense the fear that went around the young adults, who quickly closed their mouths. I was glad to have Stan on my side for this one.

 _Rrrrrrggggghhhh…._

I felt a shiver run down my spine as I started to tune in to my surroundings, and unfortunately started to hear the sounds of monsters in the distance. Shrieking, roaring, growling…

It was something straight out of a horror movie.

"So...where you guys from?"

Dipper heard the question come from Josh, who seemed to be the most outgoing, next to Amy.

I was at first suspicious of answering that question, as was fitting for my paranoid nature. However, I overcame my guarded attitude to respond.

"Well, uh...when I first...gained consciousness, I guess is how you would put it...I, uh, was in a forest of sorts, on top of a large hill. And…"

Dipper's eyes wandered over towards Mabel, who was hiking along beside him, seemingly halfway recovered from whatever illness had befallen her prior.

"...Mabel here was next to me."

I only happened to notice that she reacted with some form of relief to hear me finally call for her name. I was about to be disgusted by her presence once again, yet I hesitated. I didn't find her consolation to be one that was out of any form of pleasure, but rather pure relief. Why, though?

"Thank you, Dipp-"

It shocked me to suddenly see Mabel fall to her knees and vomit onto the ground below, everyone turning their eyes to witness the sorrowful sight.

Among the refuse that had come out, I noticed a half-digested rotten apple laying in the bile, and I felt a pit of guilt open up in my heart.

At sudden, there was a strong grip around my arm, and I looked up to see Stan pulling me off to the side of the group. After walking a few meters, Stan took a hard stare at me, his eyes filled with anger.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me, Dipper?!"

"Wh-what?"

"I saw you look at that grimy apple. I tasked you with feeding her back at the warehouse, and you give her a goddamn _rotten fruit?_ How much of a piece of shit can you _be?!"  
_ I felt a mix between indignance and shame.

"I...She..."

"She's _sick,_ Dipper! She was injured, nearly _died,_ and you decide to feed her _shit._ "

 _Fuck you, old crone!_

 _I'll kill you and whoever else I want!_

 _You're burdens to me!_

I felt dark thoughts cloud my head, violent tendencies build up in my body, and in an act of unchecked defiance, my left hand balled into a fist and struck Stan across the face. For a moment, both he and I were shocked by the sudden attack.

…

…

…

I then saw his face turn scarlet-red, and within seconds, my face was shoved into the dirt, Stan prowling over me as he hissed in my ear.

" _I should leave you little shits here to rot! You can be ripped to shreds by the monsters for all I care!"_

As these words of abuse were hurled at me, I began to cry and shiver in fear, the realization of the terrible abuse _I_ had inflicted upon Mabel.

" _All you kids do is piss me off, undermining me at every step of the way! There's no end to your stupidity OR your unpredictability!"_

Why she was so relieved when I didn't immediately treat her with disgust.

" _Clawed to death, burnt, stabbed, dismembered, eviscerated, castrated, decapitated, by those monsters! That's what'll happen to you if you keep FUCKING with me!"_

And yet, even past all that, she still looked at me like I was her everything. Like I was _something._

" _What the hell is wrong with you people?! Did you lose your sanity along with your humanity?!"_

I deeply wanted to apologize to Mabel right now, for all the terrible things I had said to her. Despite what she did in the past, she did it out of the best interest for _me._

" _Why did I even go along with you fools? Just to witness you tear each other apart?!"_

Now that I realized just how easily other people could break, I wanted so desperately to be around Mabel, someone familiar, someone...I loved.

" _Leave each other alone, and ENOUGH with the rivalry- AAAH!"_

Stan, at sudden, let out a cry of pain as a hard _whack_ was heard. He fell over to the side, unconscious, a large welt on his head. I looked up to see Mabel, standing over me, makeshift cudgel in hand. Despite her sickness, the fire in her eyes burned brightly.

"Are...are you okay, Dipper-"  
What happened next I could not explain rationally, nor could I appeal to anyone of decent morality about my decision. I got up from the ground, relief and a swelling filling my chest, and grabbed Mabel by her shoulders, bringing her close.

And I kissed her.

In the moment, I was filled with a joyous feeling, one that I was too fulfilled with to be absolutely sickened by. I held the kiss for moments, feeling the warmth that radiated off of Mabel.

Sweet...sugary…

Oh, _god_ , what am immeasurable _relief_ from the depraved, sick, _twisted_ atmosphere of this vast wasteland.

My eyes were closed, but I could feel Mabel melt into my arms as we embraced one another tightly, both out of reassurance and love.

Finally, I let go, taking my lips off of hers. I gazed into her eyes, seeing a bright, ecstatic look in the shades of her pupils.

"Dipper…"

I could not possibly explain what madness drove me to commit such a morally indecent action. I could not rationalize why. All I knew was, in that moment, within this horrific nightmare of a world…

I was _happy._

And now that I thought about it, why should _I_ have to resist such an urge to cherish love, even if it was debauched? What moral compass could one _possibly_ have in such a place as this, filled with monsters, deviants, fanatics and _depravity?_

There was none. I could do _whatever_ I wanted in this new world, and there would be _no one_ who could hold it against me. It would merely be another facet to fuel this ever-growing nightmare that I couldn't seem to escape.

" _By the gods above, how wicked, how sinful, how_ _ **depraved!**_ _Such an act of Oedipal love, unchecked and encouraged by your own perverted emotions and carnal desires! O, how licentious and promiscuous! Surely, you will not consummate this incestuous act before my very eyes?! I would have no choice but to dunk my these black marbles into a pool of acid and bleach, to cleanse my sight's palate of these degenerative actions befitting of the lowest common denominator!"_

I heard Soos' rambling as he scrambled over here like a goblin, though I decided to tune him out, as I was not in the mood for his drivel. I released Mabel from my arms, much to her disappointment, and turned to look at the still-unconscious Stan, then towards the very confused and shocked group of our traveling partners.

I decided to look to the horizon, towards where we were heading. Within the distance, around a few miles away, I spotted what looked to be a clustering of cities.

 _That must be...Richmond._

Despite having not kept any memories of my life before this hell, I still pertained what seemed to be a fountain of knowledge in many areas, from math and science to mythology and geographical locations.

Now that we were within sight of a form of civilization, I turned my head back to the group members. I was filled with confidence, all from a simple kiss.

 _And yet, at what cost to your dignity?_ My inner thought chirped maliciously. _To your pride? Your morality? These are the actions of reprobates._

I crassly ignored my inner thoughts. I was not interested in a morality lesson, especially not when I was living in an environment of constant hostility and moral ambiguity.

"Listen up, guys," I started, catching their attention. "We're going to head towards Richmond, and we'll be scavenging the outer parts of the cities for supplies. From there, we'll figure out what to do."

The members nodded nervously, clearly sensing some power shift in leadership. I was inspired by their fear. I felt... _powerful._

Surely, these feelings were natural and righteous?

Then again, it didn't matter what was righteous or not in this climate. I had plenty of justification for acting however I pleased.

"Now, Josh, Sean. You two help carry Stan. If we can find some form of a stretcher when we get there, that should make things easier."

They groaned as the thought of hauling around a big old man was dreadful, but complied nonetheless, moving over to pick up his unconscious figure. I nodded in satisfaction.  
"Now, let's get moving."

* * *

Within a dozen minutes or so, we had arrived at the base of the city, where the ground was starting to turn from dirt and gravel to cracked concrete, and the air was starting to fill with the smell of an overwhelming amount of death. My nerves were on edge as the air was pervaded with that all-too-familiar scent of corpse. Despite my familiarization to the sickening smell, my traveling partners were less than pleased.

"My god! What the hell _is_ that?!" Amy exclaimed, pinching her nose as the group was walking.

"It's the rotting bodies of those that couldn't escape the monsters…"

My answer was a bit morbid and surprising to myself, but especially so to my group members, who fell into silence as their questions were answered grimly.

"You can bog it down if you take a cloth and tie it around the lower part of your face like a bandana." I stated simply. I had the done the same thing when I first came upon a town during my first week of discovery in this world, though now I had gotten used to the smell.

They followed through with what I said quickly, ripping apart some cloths and tying them around their mouths.

"...Thanks, Dipper." Amy said. I nodded to her, continuing my trek down the path.

Eventually, I noticed that a large highway, running over a wide-spanning river with several rocks noticeable over the surface, was the only way into the city from where we were. The highway itself was clogged with abandoned vehicles, most of them torn up, exploded, or having had some other catastrophe befall their metal bodies.

"Alright, we're gonna have to-"

I was interrupted by my planning as I broke into a fit of intense coughing. Amy came up to inspect me with worry.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine…"

In all actuality, I was not very fine. Recently, I had felt a creeping weakness begin to set upon my body, and these coughing fits had increased slowly but gradually since I had left the warehouse. I wasn't sure if I had caught some disease from that dreary place, but I hoped I could find some form of antibiotics before anything serious happened.

Aside from that, I felt my eyes wander over to Stan, who was beginning to stir from his unconscious state. I had been thinking about how to approach him when he woke up, and I decided that, despite his angry outburst, he could be reasoned with.

"Put Stan down." I ordered to Sean and Josh, who complied by releasing his limbs from their hands.

"Wait, not so-"

" _OW!"_

"..Ugh…"

Stan was stirred from his unconscious state, looking up and around groggily. It took a few moments, but Stan was finally gaining a bearing of the past events that transpired. His eyebrows furrowed in anger as he made eye contact with me, and began getting up.

"Goddamn you, Dipper! Who do you think you are, hitting me-"

"Wait, Stan!"

My urgent exclamation stopped him in his tracks, though he kept a hard gaze on me.  
"I didn't hit you. Mabel did."

His head swiveled towards Mabel, who I noticed subtly had her club out in case anything happened. I was thoroughly impressed by her sudden change in how she was able to adapt to the situation and my intentions with Stan, as rather than resorting to killing or threatening, she would now keep guard and anticipate a serious threat.

 _She must have learned from the past,_ I thought to myself. I couldn't help but feel an immeasurable relief from this discovery. I felt as if I had things under control, now.

"Damn brat…" Stan muttered, though his anger seemed to have lessened.

"Listen, Stan, do you remember what you did before you...fell unconscious?"

Stan was about to spout a retort, when he seemed to realize what I was referring to. His eyes flickered downwards, and I could see a hint of shame in his eyes.

"...Yes, I do, but…"

"I understand what I did was wrong, but I've bridged the gap with Mabel." I stated. "I want to leave it there, but I also want you to understand that what you did in response was extremely...cruel."

Stan said nothing.

"But...Stan...I want you to know that I appreciate your leadership, and your help. I'm not trying to usurp command from you, nor am I trying to harm you...Okay?"

I noticed Mabel inching towards me from the side, seemingly attempting to create a barrier of protection between me and Stan. I felt another strong surge of affection towards her as I noticed the action. It was indescribably wonderful to have someone look out for me so strongly.

"I love you, Dipper." Mabel muttered, before turning to me and planting a kiss on my lips. I was filled with another sense of ease and reassurance, breaking off the kiss as I slowly leaned away.

"I...love you too, Mabel."

I just then realized what I was doing in front of Stan, and I looked over to see him disgusted and appalled by the sight.

"Wha...Wha…" He muttered. He gagged, covering his mouth for a moment.

…

…

…

Stan got up from his place, trudging towards Mabel and I. Instinctively, I lowered my hand to my side, where my knife was tucked. To my surprise, Stan brushed past both of us, moving on towards one of the nearby buildings, a bar.

"What the hell am I doing…"

I felt a mound of relief wash off the tension as I suspected that Stan had now violent plans in mind, though I felt guilty for assuming the worst from him.

"Damn, I guess he's not used to young love, is he?" Josh commented idly. I realized that he wasn't aware of my relationship with Mabel, and I decided it would not be ideal to make him aware.

"Well, what now, Dipper?"

I looked back at Amy, who had addressed the question.

"Well, we should get to searching."

"Why don't we just send the bots?"

I had just then remembered the presence of the bot army that surrounded us. I had almost forgot about them, as they seemed to blend into the background in a very odd way.

"Well, we tried that one time, but I don't think they have the capability to measure what is valuable to us or not. They can protect you guys while you search."

Amy nodded her head.

"Alright, we'll get to it."

I heard a tired sigh from Vito, the short Italian. Now that I thought about it, I had noticed Vito was actually quite old, telling us he was 54 while we were on a trek for the past day. I didn't want to cause his demise by over-pushing him, so I decided to get creative.

"Vito, since you have more experience in, uh, life, why don't you oversee the search, and decide what's particularly valuable and what's crap?"

Vito looked at me with a grateful expression.

"Sounds great. Thank, Dipper."

I couldn't lie, I was starting to feel a hubris begin to grow in my mind, though I made sure that I would keep myself in check. I was starting to become more self-aware, and with self-awareness comes the ability to improve oneself. I did _not_ want to screw up what I had now.

"Soos, can you direct the bots to protec-"

" _Not a problem, NOT a problem! There is a simple solution, to- FACETIOUS HUMOR- don't get your panties in a knot, now!"_

"...Thanks. Actually, while you're doing that, I might need you to do something for me, Soos."

" _Oh? On GOD?!"_

I had an idea brewing in my head for a couple days now, especially since seeing Soos' astounding mechanical abilities.

"Soos, I was wondering if you could design some sort of...vehicle...that can carry all of us, but doesn't make any sound."

As I had noticed in the past, especially with seeing a few passing vehicles, they tended to make sound that would attract all types of monsters, and most that I had the chance to witness were either ripped apart by monsters, including the passengers inside, or we found them ripped apart further down the trail. Thus, a vehicle that moved without making sound. Soos seemed to take a liking to this idea.

" _Yes, YES! What an idea, one befitting of an autistic savant!"_

"Wait, what-?"

Before I could confront Soos, he sped off, running towards one of the abandoned buildings with a few bots in tow. I sighed in relief. I had everything worked out as of right now. All except…

I looked towards the bar, where Stan had receded into. As much as I wanted to leave him be, I wasn't sure if his relations with me were in any way fixed. I decided it would be best to go and see how he was doing, or at least try and rebuild whatever barriers I had burned prior.

As I was about to make my way in with Mabel, who was walking alongside me, I considered making her stay outside. After all, Stan witnessed the kiss between her and I, and as much as I had a different view to the newfound relationship, I was much more sure that Stan was revolted by it.

"Welp, this going to be...difficult."

* * *

Pushing open the double doors, I entered the bar to find the place to be in a somewhat stable state. Aside from the mess caused from what seemed to be panicked customers, as well as some broken bottles, the interior was not dilapidated in any way.

And there, sitting at the bar on a stool, was Stan, who was indulging himself to a few bottles of whiskey. As I came forward, I noticed that the first whiskey bottle was already half empty. I was a bit discouraged, as confronting a drunken man was already not a good way to start off.

As I tentatively approached the bar, my footsteps squeaked on the floorboards, and Stan slightly tilted his head to the right.

"Jesus Christ…" He muttered, before going back to drinking.

I got up to the counter, taking a seat next to him. I noticed a rectangular mirror stretched along the entirety of the bar opposite of our heads, allowing me to see Stan's defeated expression as he downed the whiskey.

Silence grew on as Stan continued drinking, taking moments to stare at the reflection in the mirror.

…

…

…

"This is hell."

I glanced over at Stan as he remarked the statement.

"Well, yeah, but...we should at least try to make the best of it."

Stan took another swig before responding.

"...And here I thought you were the pessimist of the group…"

"Well, that's changed now. There's a lot I've realized over this short span of time. Now that I'm more organized, my mind is clear."

"Organized, huh? What a fuckin' joyous time…"

Another moment of silence, another swig from the bottle.

"Stan, I...I don't want there to be any bad blood between us, considering what happened from before-"

"Listen, kid. I want to tell you something before I forget it in my damn stupor."

I closed my mouth, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"The moment I met you two, when you entered my shack...I felt a strong sense of familiarity. Your mannerisms, your actions, your words...They all sounded so...familiar. Mabel, despite her aggressive nature….She wasn't like that always. I'm sure of that. And you, Dipper...I feel as if you had a spark about you, as if you were optimistic, curious, courageous...I don't...I don't feel like this _world_ is the real one. Like...Like there's a problem, or that this whole place was changed, or….I don't fuckin' know."

Another swig of the bottle.

"...Right now, I can't look at you, Dipper. You were first bullying and trying to get rid of your sister, and now...Now...You're fucking... _kissing_ her...What the hell...I...I can't possibly understand what's going on in your mind...And I don't want to…"

Another swig.

"I...I don't know what other advice to give you...I...I care for you, but...this is just... _wrong. Immoral._ I have to resist the urge to vomit just thinking about-"

Stan gagged, covering his mouth as a thought occurred to him.

"...You two...need to...I don't know...but this...this is just...fucking _sick_."  
Another moment passed. I was about to open my mouth to justify my actions.

"Don't try to explain it to me, Dipper...please...I don't want to hear it. I can't possibly fathom justifying sick actions, even if you live in a sick world, even if you're surrounded by constant sickness..."

"...Just...leave me be."

"But-"

"Leave me be."

His tone was a little more forceful the second time, which made me feel a little ashamed of myself. I decided I would leave him alone for now, sliding out of my seat. As I made my way out of the bar, I looked back at Stan once more. He took another swig of the bottle, almost all of it empty at this point, and felt a sadness pick at my heart.

I turned my head and exited the bar.


	15. DO NOT MAKE A SOUND

**Chapter 15: DO NOT MAKE A SOUND.**

A few hours after thorough searching by the group members, they came back to present a commendable amount of supplies.

"Lots of medical stuff, somewhat-fresh clothing, actual, _edible_ food and- holy SHIT IS THAT A GUN?!" I exclaimed, gazing in awe at the handgun that Vito was holding before me.

"It's gonna be useless."

Before I could say anything, I heard Stan's voice, looking over to see him slumped against the side of a nearby fence, a nearly-empty bottle of whiskey in his hands. "Did ya forget, bud? That machine gun didn't do _shit._ "

I felt everyone's eyes glance back towards me.  
"What's he talkin' about?" Vito piped up.

I was dismayed by the realization that Stan had caused me to remember. My excitement in seeing the gun had faded almost instantly, becoming equal to that of a club, maybe. Nonetheless, I was a bit perplexed by the confused faces that seemed to encapsulate the crowd in front of me.

"Wait, you guys don't know?"

"Know what?"

"...Guns don't work."

As expected, I received a few unbelieving expressions, and a snicker from Vito.

"Come on, buddy, what're you-"

I couldn't give a shit about the feedback I was receiving, so I simply demonstrated, picking up the gun and raising it towards the air, and, to everyone's alarm, pulled the trigger.

"What the FUCK ARE YOU-"

They were bewildered to see the gun emit a resounding _click._

"What the…" Vito muttered in astonishment. "That pistol is fully loaded…"

As I brought the firearm back down and shoved it back in Vito's arms, I reflected on the dark thought that had passed my mind as I had gripped the handgun. For just a moment there, I had considered pointing the barrel end of the gun at Vito's face and pulling the trigger as a form of intimidation. The thought had passed quickly, but I was disturbed that it had even crossed my mind in the first place.

"See? It doesn't work. Any other gun you find is gonna act the exact same way." I stated simply. "I don't know how, but it seems that something has disabled all of the firearms."

As the group panicked at the revelation I had proclaimed, I glanced over at Soos, who seemed to be assessing me.

" _Considered that power move, huh? A show of force and intimidation?"_

I was alarmed by Soos' random yet unsettlingly specific rhetorical question. Had he read my mind?

"Wait, Soos."

" _Cat's callin?"_

"Weren't you building that thing?" I asked him, referencing the silent vehicle I had tasked him with making. I was frightened to suddenly see an aggressive rise in Soos' behavior as he began muttering violently, scratching at his head fervently while looking around.

" _Not procurable here, Dipstar- SCARCE- surely in the municipality of (dirty, long talons)- we could obtain such materials- Not enough soup- not ENOUGH! Here is not enough! Doth thou wanteth to maketh me repeateth mineself, Dipshit?!"_

I couldn't be bothered to interpret half of what Soos had just spewed, but I caught on that supplies could potentially be found in the city for the vehicle I had in mind.

"We gonna get movin' or what?" Stan grumbled, stumbling as he slid up the wall to steady himself, bottle of whiskey in hand. "I'm getting sick of this place already."

I shook off Soos' disturbing words, and nodded my head solemnly, turning towards the group.

"Listen here, guys." I voiced, making sure not to be too loud. Nowadays, quietness was the key to survival, if you didn't want to attract nearby monsters.

Everyone's eyes turned towards me, save for Stan, who was peering into his bottle with disappointment.

"We have no idea what's gonna be in that place." I said simply, pointing at the city that laid beyond the wide-spanning bridge before us. "Which means we need to make sure we do whatever we can to stay cautious of our surroundings and minimize the amount of sound we make. Remember, we're here to find some stuff and pass along, and _nothing else._ Everyone clear on this?"

I felt my mind ease from stress as I watched them all nod slowly in confirmation, all except for Sean, who was looking in particular at some of the newcomers Josh, Mary and Amy whilst trembling slightly, his face filled with apprehension and unease. I was dismayed by this.

In fact, all along the way since I had saved them from death, I had noticed that Sean, the irish guy, had always kept that look of fear in his eyes, almost never taking them off those three. He had been fidgety and nervous since I had met him, and always distanced himself from those three whenever he could, especially during the long trek to this city.

I was both anxious and curious as to why those three took up his attention, but I dreaded that it was not something good.

Nonetheless, there was not time right now to worry about that. I turned once more, facing the bridge that led ominously into the city, the sounds of the deep rumbles, groans and the faint roaring of monsters far off reaching my ears, making the whole idea even more unsettling.

"It's okay, Dipper. I won't let anything happen to you." I heard Mabel say, wrapping her arm around mine, leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. As I looked at Mabel, looked into her hazel eyes, Stan's words echoed in my head.

 _You know nothing, old man,_ I thought in anger. _This world has no morals, nothing is upright. Why should I be? If I enjoy it, then I should be able to do it…_

I looked once more at the bridge.

"Alright, let's get moving."

* * *

We had made our way across the bridge, halfway over, and I decided to take a moment to go to the railings and look down at the wide river that ran below the bridge.

Despite the darkly perverted landscape, the water remained unchanged, and I almost lost myself in the cool-blue stream, flowing under the bridge. It was the first sight I had of something that could be considered 'beautiful' in this place.

"Someone's coming."

I heard Vito mutter the statement near me and prompted myself to look up across the bridge. Indeed, someone was coming, a single, ragged individual splattered with dark-red stains across his entire person. As he stumbled towards me, I felt it necessary to unsheathe my knife and keep it at the ready, and everyone else followed suit. I had also happened to notice that the bots following Soos had stayed back at the front of the bridge.  
"Soos, why are they back there?"

I was astonished to see, for the first time since I had met this crazy fuck, an expression resembling caution on his face.

" _The lad yonder shall answer ye questions, boy."_

I felt a shiver run down my spine upon hearing the phrase, looking back at the man who continued towards us.

When he was around five meters away, I decided to engage him in a firm tone.

"We're just passing by, sir. We are not going to-"

My sentence was cut off when I noticed that the man brought up one finger to his lips, in the manner for shushing someone. His eyes carried a fresh, severe trauma, as if he had experienced terrible horror from where had just come. He came up to me, laying one hand softly on my shoulder, still keeping that shushing expression.

"..."

The lack of words from the man gave me goosebumps all over, and shortly after he let go of my shoulder, continuing to stumble down the bridge past us.

"What...the hell...was that?" Josh muttered, visibly disturbed. Mary and Amy mirrored the same discomfort, Vito seemed shaken, and Sean could only be seen as terrified.

I was also seriously shaken by the encounter.

Though it seemed that the message here was to be quiet, that went for the entirety of the environment we were in. However, he seemed to be warning of a whole new different level of silence…

" _Foul beasts of milky white lay within that den of silence, shrouded in decrepit decay. They see not with sight, but with the shattering of tranquility."_ Soos muttered menacingly.

I nearly shit my pants upon hearing that foreboding sentiment.

"You know, we can always go around." Vito piped up, keeping his voice quiet. I shook my head, despite wanting badly to do just what he suggested.

"Unfortunately, I think all the supplies we need for that silent vehicle is in that city, along with a lot more useful supplies, I'm sure. On top of that, traveling around this giant place would take us weeks, and I can assure you that we would encounter much more horrific monsters in the forests than on the road and around civilization."

Dipper had no idea if that was the case, but he was sure that traveling in an open area was much more desirable, as they could not be caught off-guard by monsters hiding in the forestry.

"Nonetheless, we all need to keep quiet when we go into the city. That much is obvious."

* * *

Finally, the group crossed to the end of the bridge, with everyone peering up at the large buildings before them. Decrepit and battered, as if they had just gone through a warzone.

Dipper had decided it would be best if they crossed through alleyways and smaller streets rather than the main streets than ran throughout the city. Trash littered the streets, blood stained the concrete below, and a few bodies, most of them mutilated greatly, were scattered haphazardly around. As they passed by a little girl's body leaned up against a general store, her limbs dismembered and eyes gouged out, Amy ran over to a public garbage can and was violently sick, trying to stifle her sobbing.

"Oh my god...oh my god…" She kept muttering, tears streaming down her face.

Along the way, Dipper and the group found some extremely valuable supplies, though most were in stores and malls that they passed.

"We can't risk them." Dipper stated quietly to everyone. "If they have that bell that rings at the front door or, god forbid, an alarm system that will go off, we're as good as dead."

And so, with reluctance, they passed them by.

It was an hour into exploring the city that Dipper began to take notice to some discrepancies he saw in the surrounding environment.

It was a city, yet there were so few people, and most importantly of all,

 _Where were all the monsters…?_

That question stuck in his mind with fear, as he was afraid there was something going on that he wasn't sure about. However, upon remembering the man they had encountered at the bridge, he felt it had to do with the silence.

It was painfully quiet in the city. The only things that could be heard were the wind and the faint roaring of the monsters in the distance.

There were no birds, no animals...no humans…

It was terrifying.

"Dipper."

I heard the hushed voice and craned my head over towards Mary, who had picked up something from the ground. "What is this?"

I came up to inspect the object. It was flat on one end, and had an odd shape to it. Once I turned to the other side.

"What are all these skin-colored flaps-"

"Hey, that kind of looks like my-"

I was startled when Vito came out of nowhere and snatched the thing from my hands, snaking over to a public trash bin and yeeting it into the hole.

"What the hell was that, Vito?!" I hissed. He looked over at me with a grim expression.

"That was nothing useful. At least, not to morally upright individuals."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I decided to move on from the point.

"This place creeps me out." Mary whispered to me. "We should get through the town already."

"I know, but...we still need to find out what parts are necessary for that vehicle, and Soos claimed they could be found in this city."

"So what? Soos is fuckin' insane! Look at him!" She pointed at Soos, who was currently rubbing the brick frame of a nearby building studiously.

" _Elegant in a colonial fashion, like the year 1775 gives flashbacks to war veterans of the olden days. Oh, how I envy their ignoble spirits, the queer gentlemen!"_

Soos was not helping the case I was making for him.

Nonetheless, I shook my head.

"Look, he's helped us through a lot, and you guys have only arrived recently. He may be insane, but he's reliably insane."

"Listen, Dipper…" Mary started, and I was immediately taken off-guard when I felt her softly lay her hand on my chest, dragging it down in a very suggestive manner.

"Wh-What are you-"

She came up to me, whispering in my ear as her hand made its way down towards my pants.

"I think it would be in _everyone's_ best interest if we just moved along. Don't you agree? After all, I can...give you something in return for leaving this _dreadful_ place…"

I was shocked by the suddenly promiscuous behavior of this girl before me, but I didn't have much time to think about it when I noticed Mabel come from behind me, launching a punch into Mary's face. She fell backwards as blood splattered to the ground, smacking into the pavement.

"OW, FUCK!" She yelped.

"Don't fucking touch him, _whore!"_ Mabel seethed.

 _Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….._

I froze in fear as I heard the low-pitched screech, like knives being dragged across glass.

"Oh, fuck."

I whipped my head around to see something peek its head around the corner of a building nearby, a few stories up. My face drained of blood as I realized what had happened.

"Shit, get inside!" I uttered in a strained hush, hoping to god above that we had not yet made enough sound to invite many of the monsters our way. As I quietly sprinted into a nearby building, I was quickly followed by everyone else, who tried to remain just as quiet.

I pushed open the doors of the building, and was utterly relieved to find out that they did not creak. Once everyone got inside, I surveyed the place quickly. It seemed like we were in some big lobby of a corporate building, with the front desk in the center of the first floor, and stairs on either side, leading up to a second floor.

"We need to find some higher ground, in case those things may decide to come inside." I whispered, before making my way cautiously to the stairs, avoiding all of the debris on the floor.

We made our way up the stairs, and from there I located a small stairwell through a door, and decided to head upwards.

After a minute or so of quick running and sore feet, I exited through a side door and came out into a wide lobby, with several windows lining the left wall.  
"Holy fuck…"

"What the hell…"

"Christ above…"

All along the windows, as if somehow drawn out of their dens, were dozens of creatures, with elongated arms and legs, stretched, hairless, white skin. They crawled along the windows haphazardly, occasionally twitching their heads, as if listening.

I needed no further warning to shush everyone behind me, my heart pounding violently.

 _Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm._

That mantra played in my head over and over as we slowly made our way along the floor, sidestepping shards of glass, crumpled paper, and other debris from the office we were in.

Slowly, but surely, we stayed alongside the right wall, as far away from the window as possible.

"Be careful when you round this corner." I whispered, pointing to the nearby hallway coming up. "We might need to watch out for-"

 _ **Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.**_

I felt my heart drop as I heard the screeching noise, and turned back forward to see myself nearly face to face with one of those creatures, who was climbing alongside the wall.

Everyone froze. I stared into the foggy pupils of the monster, stared at its bloodstained needle-like teeth.

I stepped sideways once, taking all the care in the world to make no sound. Then I took another.

 _ **Screeeaa.**_

It continued crawling along the wall towards the group, and they all followed suit, sidestepping so that it could move along.

Eventually, we made it far back enough that the thing had eventually rounded the corner and out of sight.

The tension in the air was unbearable. We continued walking, ever so slowly, towards the staircase on the other side.

" _Dipper."_

I heard someone whisper faintly into my ear, so quiet that the words were almost unable to be heard. I decided not to comment, as I was unsure if I could speak so quietly in this silence. I wanted to tell him to shut up, to keep quiet until we got out of this situation, but he kept talking, and I eventually realized it was Sean whispering.

" _I need...to tell you...something."_

His voice was so hushed that he had to hesitate every words just to ease the strain he was putting on his throat.

" _Can...it...wait?"_ I whispered back, trying to mimic his quietness.

" _...Josh...Mary...Amy...they are...a threat…"_

I was made curious by that sentence, and felt dread build up in my chest as he went on.

" _...Before...we...met...they...were...evil…"_

I was getting more and more nervous as he continued.

" _...They...have...done...bad...things...evil...things…"_

" _Care to...clarify..?"_

" _We...need...to...leave...them...as...soon...as...possible…they're...using...you…"_

We were almost to the stairs.

" _...They...plan...to...ki-"_

Suddenly, I felt his voice whisked away, and looked behind to see Josh having pushed into Sean, sending him falling towards the glass.

 _Smack!_

We all watched in horror, eyes wide, mouths agape, as Sean smacked into the window, sending a loud reverberation that shattered the silence.

The heads of all those creatures crawling around on the glass darted towards the source.

Sean looked up at me, horror in his eyes.

"No-"

 _ **SMASH!**_

I watched on in horror as the glass shattered, dozens of mangled arms and claws reaching through the broken window and grabbing at Sean, who was pulled out of the building, screaming in terror.

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**_

 _I watched on in horror as the claws tore at his skin, his face, his arms and legs. Blood coated the claws and his own body as they went to work, peeling his skin from his muscle. He screamed in agony, screamed for someone to kill him. The creatures lowered their faces within eye's view, and I gazed upon their pulled, pale faces, their clouded retinas, their needle-like, bloodied teeth, as they began to bite and devour Sean, ripping chunks of flesh and muscle from him. One of the creatures stabbed its a single claw into his left eye, pulling it out clean and chomping down on it, another ripping off his arm. The pain had become so powerful he was numbed to the torture, and as his single eye flicked towards me, I could see a desire for death, so strong that I felt my body crawl with horrible fear, my eyes filling with tears, my mind flooded with terror._

 _ **Kill me,**_ _he screamed._

 _I pulled out the pistol from my bag, aimed the sights at his head, and pulled the trigger._


	16. Alarm

**Ch** **a** **p** **ter** **16: Alarm**

 _ **BANG!**_

The gunshot rang out through the whole building, and time slowed down as I slowly came to my senses.

I could see Sean's head fly back as the bullet went through his head, and immediately, I was confronted by the dozens of sets of foggy eyes as those bloodied monsters craned their heads towards the source of the sound.

"Oh, Christ…" I muttered in abject horror.

I felt a hard yanking on my arm, being pulled towards an exit by Stan, followed by the rest of the group.

 _ **SCCCREEEAAAAAA!**_

I felt chills run down my spine as that horrific shrieking came from the dozens of horrific creatures crawling around the building, followed by the sinister tapping and clicking sound of their claws.

It was a flurry as I was hauled down the stairs and through the lower floors. I was still in shock from the violent death of Sean, and the sudden chase we were in wouldn't allow me to think and gather my thoughts.

Finally, after a few minutes of running and heading down multiple levels, we eventually took cover in an empty lobby with multiple windows, with Stan hastily but quietly closing the doors from the lobby to the hallway.

We had a moment to think, albeit one of an extremely tense atmosphere.

We looked around at one another for reassurance, the atmosphere was dead silent. I could hear the sounds of screeching and tapping in the distance, somewhere behind the doors that had been closed. It seemed to me that they hadn't been able to track us after the initial gunshot.

" _What…the fuck…"_

I looked up to see a rattled Stan staring at me with unfocused and frustrated eyes. He was still clearly drunk, and it was a miracle that he had been able to navigate the group to safety in his state.

" _How...the fuck...did you...fire...the gun?"_

He was whispering with the most strained tone, his words almost unable to be heard.

" _I...I…"_ I stuttered, unable to communicate. I was still in shock from the events that had just transpired, and the general panic of the situation.

" _There...is...an energy...about you...boy…"_

I felt my blood run cold at hearing the deep and sinister voice. I turned my head, and was further horrified to see Soos, staring at me. His eyes were not crazed as they usually were, his stance was upright, and he wore a calm expression on his face. As he spoke, his voice resonated, yet never grew above a whisper, My eyes darted over towards the dozens of creatures crawling along the nearby buildings, but none of them seemed to hear it.

" _You...may be...the one…"_

I didn't bother answering. The atmosphere was fragile as glass, and I didn't dare to do anything that would make even the smallest sound.

I heard some scraping nearby, and looked over to witness Amy, who was looking out the window, scramble back in terror as one of the creatures crawled across the window and subsequently sending a brick screeching across the floor. My heart dropped as I saw the heads of those creatures outside turn towards us.

 _ **CRASH!**_

Everyone scrambled back as one of the monsters flew through the window from a neighboring building and into the deserted lobby we had fled into, sending shards of glass flying across the ground.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Stan having placed his hand over Amy's mouth, suggesting she had been about to shriek.

The creature twitched and snarled, its limbs contorting as it tried to get up, glass embedded in its flesh, human-like blood seeping out of its gashes.

 _Scrreeeeaaa! Scrrreeeeeeaaa!_

We stayed deathly silent, slowly inching backwards as its head whipped around, and that was when I noticed the holes where its ears would be.

Little flaps twirled around into its ears, almost spiraling towards the center. I had already assumed they worked on sounds, as its eyes were milky-white, and it used its whole head to scan its surroundings rather than its eyes, suggesting complete blindness.

Just as I came to this realization, my eyes fell upon the brick, which was lying at my feet. A lightbulb turned on in my head. I picked up the brick, ever so softly, and raised it. I saw Stan's eyes widen, though he didn't move to stop me.

I winded up and threw the brick at the wall behind the creature.

 _CRACK!_

Just as the brick impacted, the sounds of monstrous screeches pierced the air, and more of those creatures crawled in through the opening, scurrying towards the area where the brick broke apart and scratching at the fragments of brick aggressively.

A twisted idea formed in my head. I looked around for another hard object to throw, and noticed an electric drill sitting on a stack of planks. I eased my way over, feeling everyone's eyes on me, and grabbed the drill. I aimed it at the first creature that had crawled in, bringing my hand back and throwing it as hard as I could.

 _SMACK!_

As the drill smacked into the creature and clattered to the floor, the other creatures pounced at the location, several of them scraping their claws over the first creature. I was filled with a burning feeling of malicious victory at first, but it quickly faded when the creature let out a low screech, and the other creatures immediately backed off. The action baffled me, and in the same second I realized what had happened here. If we had some sort of sound-recording device, maybe…

That was a passing thought, and it was quickly washed away by the dangerous situation we were now in. There were now six of these demons scurrying around in the lobby we were in, and the exit was too far away to reach it quietly without triggering the acute hearing of these monsters. I thought about throwing my gun or a weapon on me at the wall or through the window, but I didn't think the sound would last long enough to cover our retreat. These cretins were too close that I feared even our smallest sounds would be heard at this distance.

I craned my head around as slowly as possible to get a look at the faces of my group members, but nobody dared to make a sound to say something. I noticed Stan staring hard at something, and followed his vision to a generator sat against a column, unactivated. My eyes widened, and Stan looked over at me, nodding slowly.

We both noticed that Amy was the closest to the generator, and like us she had been watching our gazes. We looked at her, and, despite trembling heavily in fear, she nodded. She began to inch her way over to the generator, reaching out her index finger to push the button to start the generator.

I could see her visibly sweating.

Her finger was only inches away from the button.

We held our breaths.

 _Drip._

I watched as a single drop of sweat fell from her index finger and onto the floor.

 _Plop._

The creatures turned towards us, and before I could react, I heard a loud _BRRRRRRR_ to my left, realizing that Amy had turned on the generator, then dived away from it just as the creatures leapt towards it, scratching and biting at it.

I felt my heart beating against my chest rapidly as I and the others began to scurry away from the site of noise, still remaining silent to some degree under fear that we would make a louder sound than the generator.

FInally, we had reached the exit, and I pushed open the door to leave-

 _ **BEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!**_

I felt the blood drain from my face. It was a fire exit.

" _RUN!"_ Stan shouted, shoving us out the door as the creatures behind us screeched. I didn't even bother to look behind me, I just ran down the stairs as fast as possible.

 _CRACK!_

I heard what I assumed were the doors we had locked in the lobby to avoid the creatures on the other end, of which I was sure they had broken it open to join the horde that was already chasing us.

I could hear the sounds of skittering, quick footsteps, panicked shouting and screeching as the sounds of the monsters and our own group mixed into a cacophony of chaotic pandemonium.

 _SLAM!_

My heart leapt into my throat for a moment as I felt the reverberations of one of the creatures slamming through the fire exit door above us.

We had gotten down a few flights of stairs, but I had no doubt in my mind that the creatures would be able to scale our distance in short time.

"What the hell are we gonna do?!" Josh screamed in panic, which despite this terrifying situation, pissed me off, considering what he had just done only a few minutes ago.

"I don't fuckin' know, but keep running! We don't have time to think!"

The fire alarm was still going off all around the building, and the sound of windows breaking and the skittering of hundreds of creatures on the floors above and below us echoed throughout the little stairwell we were heading down.

Even worse, the sounds of that same screeching and skittering started to come from the bottom of the stairwell, and in sheer panic I went through a side door onto a random lobby.

I nearly fainted in relief to see that this floor was devoid of any of those god-awful creatures, and the group filed in, with Stan slamming the door shut. Everyone fell to their knees or keeled over in fatigue.

"We do _not_ have time to fuck around." Stan asserted, speaking in between gasps of breath. "This place is infested with these fucking things, and we gotta get the hell out of here _now!"_

"Where are we gonna go?!" Amy piped up, her voice filled with fear. "They're all over the city- If we try and run, they'll pounce on us and t _ear us apart like they did with Sean!"_

She was starting to have a mental breakdown, hyperventilating and sobbing, and I myself began to panic at the sight.

 _Are we really gonna die here?_

To clear my head, I took a look outside one of the windows, noticing that there were still creatures crawling up the building and heading towards the upper floors, where the fire alarm was ringing. I nearly had a heart attack as I witnessed the long limbs of one of those monsters skitter up the window, leaving long scratches against the glass.

It was then that I noticed something on the street level, a glint of light from a hardware store window. I peered closer, and I could barely make out the silhouette of a...person?!

"Stan, come here!"

Stan, who had previously been comforting Amy, walked over to me, and I pointed at the glinting light.

"Look, there's _people_ in the city…"

"Great, how does that help us out of our predicament?"

"I...don't know, I just felt like...I should point that out."

"Well, consider me informed. Now start using that noggin of yours to think of a way out of this shit."

As he went back to the group to brainstorm, I continued staring at the silhouette. Though it was the last thing that should've been on my mind in this situation, I was desperate to find other people in this wasteland, to be around people, so that I could feel some semblance of normalcy, like I wasn't literally stuck in hell.

And then, without any thought process beforehand, an idea popped into my mind. I quickly went over to Soos, who was unnaturally calm, staring out of the window whilst holding the demeanor of a high-society nobleman.

"Soos!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, Doctor Dipper?" He responded in an overexaggerated British accent, turning his bright-yellow eyes towards me. I'd usually be disturbed by this sudden change in behavior, but this was not the time.

"Is it possible that any of your robots could...self-destruct explosively?"

A grin crept across Soos' face in a most creepy fashion, and I almost regretted asking.

" _I'm so glad you asked, Dipper me lad!"_ He cackled. " _Where would you like me to demonstrate this magnificent feature?"_

"The infrastructure of this building and its support. If you can hit the building with enough explosions, we can bring it down and kill the creatures at the same time."

" _YES, DIPPER!"_ He cackled again, louder than before. " _And here, the tragic hero demonstrates their mettle in this unpitched battle, unsung will his praises be, but no less prestigious are they because of it!"_

His eyes settled back onto me, and that unstable look had returned to them.

" _When do you want these explosions to happen?"_

"When we're clear of the fuckin' building!"

Soos whipped out his little control monitor and began tapping on the screen.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, getting extremely nervous at this sudden action of his. "We're not clear of the building yet!"

He pocketed his device, then turned a very indifferent face up to me.

"Well, we better escape within two minutes, then."

I felt my heart drop at hearing this.

"WHAT?!" I shouted. "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU-"

" _Tick tock, Dipper."_

"WE NEED TO GET OUT, NOW!" I shouted, turning my voice towards the rest of the group.

"What? What do you-"

I waved my hand fervently towards a door I was running towards, having decided there was no time to spare to explain. Fortunately, no one needed an explanation to join me in my running, and we headed out of the door.

Into a pack of the creatures.

"TURN AROUND! TURN AROUND!" I shouted in abject horror, scrambling back into the previous room with everyone else as the creatures screeched. We had just managed to close the door as several of them leapt at us, slamming into the door and knocking several of us to the ground.

"The other doors!" Stan shouted, and we made our way over to the other set of double doors. He opened it slightly, and to our ultimate fortune, there were no creatures lurking around.

"Alright, we need to get going!" I insisted, taking the lead and making a run for it, followed closely by everyone behind me, including Soos, who was almost skipping as he ran.

" _Joy, oh joy! Ne'er have I had this much fun before! Hee heee heeeee!"_

From there, it was close call after close call, bursting through doors to find a nest of the creatures crawling around a room or hallway and subsequently slamming them and finding another way.

We went down each floor as fast as possible, and at one point, Amy had almost gotten swiped by a passing claw of a creature that had been residing on the ceiling above a hallway we were passing through.

Finally, we had reached the bottom floor, and the front lobby was clear of any creatures, despite all of the fire alarms going off. I really didn't give a shit to figure it out, I made a dash for the front doors with everyone else.

Out on the street, people began to emerge from the insides of buildings and hiding places left and right.

"GET CLEAR OF THE BUILDING! IT'S GONNA BLOW!" I shouted at them as I ran. I saw the bewilderment and panic on their faces, and some of them even joined me and my group in running away.

I turned my attention back towards the building we'd escaped momentarily, and watched as several flying bots crashed through the upper-story windows, and for a few seconds there was a strange silence. I felt panic build up in me rapidly, and I turned away from the building, covering my ears.

 _ **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!**_

I was propelled off of my feet and away from the explosion as the force of the blast sent me flying, yelping in pain as I tumbled across the ground a few feet away. I heard the groans of others who had also been thrown by the blast.

Disoriented, I tried to get up, looking around. Everything was fuzzy, and from the little I could make out, it was complete chaos. Plumes of smoke flooded into the already-gray sky, people were running away and screaming, fragments of the building were flying in all directions.

" _Get….Dipper…."_

I felt someone grab me by the arm and lift me up. I looked up to see Mabel, whose eyes were filled with fear and worry.

" _Come...Dipper…"_

I could barely hear anything. No wind. No screaming. No monster screeches.

It was...blissful.

" _...Di_ pper!"

I cringed as my ears finally adjusted, Mabel's crying voice piercing my eardrums. Abruptly, all of the other sounds flooded my ears. The screaming and screeching, the building collapsing, the hard wind blowing.

I hated it.

"Dipper, please!" Mabel cried. "Please, let's go! I'm too weak to carry you!"

 _Probably because of your malnourishment,_ I thought to myself. I felt a crushing guilt, realizing I hadn't made an effort to have her fed for the entire time I'd known her.

I got up, and together we ran from the crash site as the building, which was previously emitting flames and fumes, began to collapse, and smoke was sent billowing in every direction. I tripped, and immediately my vision was covered with smoke and dust. I took a breath and coughed profusely as dust invaded my lungs.

"Dipper! Where are you?! Dipper!" Mabel cried out from in front of me, though I couldn't see anything in this smoke and ash.

I stumbled around in a panic, trying to gain some bearings of my surroundings. I finally settled on clutching at the metal pole of a streetlight and waiting.

Waiting.

 _Waiting…_


End file.
